Press Release No. 10/306

August 2, 2010 - The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved on July 30, 2010 a three-year Extended Credit Facility Arrangement for the Republic of Yemen in the amount of SDR 243.5 million (about US$ 369.8 million) in support of the country’s economic reform program. An initial disbursement equivalent to SDR 34.79 million (US$ 52.8 million) is available to the Yemeni authorities immediately, with subsequent disbursements subject to semi-annual reviews. The goal of the authorities’ economic program is to achieve high and sustained growth and reduce poverty.

Following the Executive Board’s decision, Mr. Naoyuki Shinohara, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, issued the following statement:

2 August 2010 – United Nations agencies said today they have begun providing relief assistance to thousands of families in central and eastern Afghanistan, who are affected by the floods that have followed torrential rains in the region

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said it is working with the Afghan Government and other UN agencies and partners to respond to the hygiene, nutrition and primary health needs of up to 4,000 families in the affected regions.

UNICEF has so far provided 430 tents to Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, which border north-western Pakistan, which has also been devastated by floods.

30 July 2010 – The number of people affected by severe floods following torrential monsoon rains in north-western Pakistan during the past three days has risen to nearly a million, with hundreds dead and most of the stricken areas cut off, limiting access and relief efforts, the United Nations reported today.

The death toll in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province, is more than 290 and several hundred others have been injured, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated, quoting figures provided by national disaster management officials.

30 July 2010 – United Nations agencies are providing urgent assistance to areas of north-western Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after devastating floods, which have destroyed nearly 300 homes and left an estimated 1,500 people homeless.

“The needs are significant, and we must ensure that an appropriate response is swiftly provided,” said Fidéle Sarassoro, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country.

The flooding – which follows last week’s torrential rains in the Basunkusu area in the northern part of Equateur province – has also damaged latrines, causing water contamination, and destroyed fields, striking a blow to people’s livelihoods in an area where 80 per cent of the population depends on agriculture for survival.

29 July 2010 – The United Nations is sending relief supplies to help victims in Pakistan of heavy floods, which are the worst that some parts of the Asian nation have seen in more than eight decades.

Heavy rains in recent days have triggered flash and river floods across Pakistan, causing death and widespread displacement, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Thousands of people have lost their homes and livelihoods, with the waters destroying crops and damaging roads and bridges.

29 July 2010 – A local variety of the nutrient-rich, blue-green algae known as spirulina could boost incomes for women in Chad who harvest the product as well as help fight nutrition, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today.

The agency is running a $1.4 million project in which women are gathering and processing the product, known locally as dihé, from the shallow pools of water on the edges of Lake Chad where it forms at certain times of the year.

Launched in 2007, the project showed them how to do the job more efficiently and hygienically, and how to process, package and market the product, which is traditionally dried into a thin biscuit and later made into a bitter-tasting sauce.

Director-General Pascal Lamy, in his report to the General Council on 29 July 2010, said that “the strengthening of the multilateral trading system through the conclusion of the Doha Round and the Aid for Trade are the contributions that the WTO has to make” to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals. He added “reporting on outcomes and impacts” would be at the core of the Third Global Review of Aid for Trade in July 2011.

Report by the Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee

ABUJA, July 28, 2010— In Nigeria, the term “Fadama” is a Hausa name for irrigable land—usually low-lying plains underlaid by shallow aquifers found along major river systems. In addition to providing a source of water for livestock during dry seasons, fadamas also support large and diverse resident or transient wildlife including herbivores, carnivores and migratory birds.

The World Bank’s Fadama III project, a follow-up to the Fadama II project, which impacted the lives of rural farmers, raising their incomes by 63 percent, is showing early results in 35 Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Over US$48 million in new funding signals commitment to long-term solutions for island neighbours

Rome 28 July 2010 – While the two nations of the island of Hispaniola – the Dominican Republic and Haiti – may have different languages, histories, cultures and economic situations, their futures remain unbreakably intertwined.

In an effort to provide lasting poverty-reduction solutions for both countries, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recently announced a series of new grants and loans that aim to create job opportunities and ensure food security in Haiti, and provide lasting mechanisms for rural development in neighbouring Dominican Republic.

28 July 2010 – Safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights, the General Assembly declared today, voicing deep concern that almost 900 million people worldwide do not have access to clean water.

The 192-member Assembly also called on United Nations Member States and international organizations to offer funding, technology and other resources to help poorer countries scale up their efforts to provide clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for everyone.

The Assembly resolution received 122 votes in favour and zero votes against, while 41 countries abstained from voting.