International Organization for Migration [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.iom.int/press-room/press-releases

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Selected Press Releases
World Must Resolve Irregular Migration “Conundrum,” IOM DG Tells SE Asia Conference
05/29/15
Thailand – IOM Director General William Lacy Swing has challenged the global community to “conjugate the conundrum” of effective border management and large-scale migration.

IOM Nepal Aids Earthquake Survivors Discharged from Hospitals
05/29/15
Nepal – IOM has helped 154 Nepali earthquake survivors discharged from hospitals since May 10th under its Assisted Discharge and Referrals (ADR) program.

Slovakia Aids Earthquake-Affected Nepalis
05/29/15
Nepal – The Slovak Republic today handed over EUR 71,200 worth of humanitarian aid to IOM for earthquake victims in Nepal.

IOM Netherlands to Host Diaspora Conference
05/29/15
Netherlands – IOM will host an international conference next week to take stock of the impact of knowledge transfer from the diaspora community in the Netherlands to nine countries of origin.

IOM Appeals for USD 26 million for Migrants in SE Asian Boat Crisis
05/26/15
Thailand – IOM is appealing for USD 26 million to assist up to 10,000 people affected by the migrant crisis in the Andaman Sea.

IOM Ethiopia Relocates 42,000 South Sudanese Refugees in Two Weeks
05/26/15
Ethiopia – IOM has transported some 41,978 South Sudanese refugees from camps in Leitchour and Nip Nip to Jewi camp in Ethiopia’s Gambella province.

IOM Aids Over 2,000 Ethiopians Returning from Yemen
05/26/15
Ethiopia – IOM Ethiopia has provided post arrival assistance to some 2,061 vulnerable Ethiopians returning from Yemen. They have included people injured in the conflict, as well as those in need of transport and accommodation.

Costa Rica, Panama Open Information Hubs for Migrants at Paso Canoas Border
05/26/15
Costa Rica – To help vulnerable migrants at the Paso Canoas border crossing between Panama and Costa Rica, IOM and the authorities of both countries have opened two specialized information hubs that will provide migrants with reliable information about their rights and services available to them.

IOM Evacuates Senegalese Migrants from Libya
05/26/15
Libya – IOM Libya yesterday evacuated 142 Senegalese migrants from Misrata and Tripoli, Libya via Djerba airport in Tunisia. The group arrived in Dakar this morning (26/5), and was met at the airport by Secretary of State for Senegalese Abroad Souleymane Jules Diop. The fourth such evacuation in recent months, this latest group included nine minors.

One Month On, Nepal’s Quake Aid Pipeline Is Running Dry
05/25/15
Nepal – A critical funding shortage is reducing the flow of aid into earthquake-ravaged Nepal to a trickle, undermining the successes in the month since the April 25 tragedy.

UNICEF [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_78364.html

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Selected press release and news notes
UNICEF renews call for protection and safety of children amidst violence in Burundi
BUJUMBURA, Burundi / NAIROBI, 27 May 2015 – UNICEF said today it is extremely concerned by evidence of the continued presence of children amidst violent confrontations in Burundi. This situation has led to the death of yet another child in a shooting Monday and the injury of a child struck by a bullet yesterday.

Children face worsening nutrition crisis as South Sudan fighting intensifies
JUBA, South Sudan, 27 May 2015 – The lives of nearly a quarter of a million children are at significant risk as food and nutrition security rapidly deteriorate in parts of South Sudan, UNICEF said today. The crisis comes as a result of ongoing conflict, diminished household food stocks and a shrinking economy.

Northeast Nigeria: Alarming spike in suicide attacks involving women and girls – UNICEF
ABUJA, Nigeria, 26 May 2015 – More women and children have been used as suicide bombers in Northeast Nigeria in the first five months of this year than during the whole of last year, according to reports collated by UNICEF.

Nepal Earthquakes: One month on from first quake, malnutrition a growing threat for children – UNICEF
KATHMANDU, Nepal, 25 May 2015 – One month after the first of two major earthquakes hit Nepal, an estimated 70,000 children under five are at risk of malnutrition and require urgent humanitarian support – according to UNICEF.

Statement on situation in Yemen by UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake
NEW YORK, 24 May 2015 – “The toll seems to grow higher by the day. Reports that two more children have been killed and six more children injured in the escalating conflict in Yemen underscore the urgent need for action to protect children — and to bring an end to the hostilities that are devastating their lives and futures.

UN Women [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.unwomen.org/news/stories

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Selected Press Releases
Joint statement on renewed attacks against the civilian population, especially women and children, in the widening armed conflict in South Sudan
Date : May 29, 2015
Joint statement by UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng and the UN Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, Jennifer Welsh.

Women take the reins to build peace in Colombia
Date : May 28, 2015
The voices of women as experts, survivors and negotiators have been included in a peace process with an unprecedented gender perspective, with the support of UN Women and other partners. It aims to end one of the longest-running internal armed conflicts in the world.

Press release: Valencia Club de Fútbol and UN Women kick off partnership to promote gender equality
Date : May 26, 2015
Valencia Club de Fútbol (CF) and UN Women announced their partnership in support of UN Women’s mandate to promote and support gender equality across the globe. For the first time ever, UN Women will collaborate with a professional sports team. The organization’s logo will be featured on the back of the Valencia CF players’ jerseys when they play in European competitions…

Gender Equality Bulletin Special Issue – Nepal, one month on…
Date : May 26, 2015
One month on from the devastating earthquake in Nepal, the UN’s Inter-cluster Gender Task Force in Response to the Nepal Earthquakes takes stock of the situation – both looking back and moving forward – in its first Gender Bulletin Special Issue. The two-page Gender Equality Bulletin complements the Gender Alert by providing key up-to-date facts and figures, initiatives, progress, challenges, needs and opportunities related to gender equality and women’s empowerment as a result of the earthquake and in the context of the emergency response.

UNDP United Nations Development Programme [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter.html

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Selected Press Releases
29 May 2015
New UN report outlines final progress on MDGs in Asia Pacific region

28 May 2015
Helen Clark: Remarks at the UNDP Annual Meeting on the Rule of Law in Crisis and Fragile Situations
Administrator Helen Clark addresses the 2015 UNDP Annual Meeting on the Rule of Law in Crisis and Fragile Situations.

28 May 2015
Peace, security, development and human rights as foundation of fair and stable society
The forum ended with a strong call of support for rule of law and human rights as a means to achieving sustainable peace and development. Permanent Representatives from UN Member States and participants from crisis countries agreed on a need to strengthen judicial systems as well as rule of law based on human rights.

27 May 2015
UNDP helps Ebola Emergency Response Workers get paid
In the Ebola epicenter countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, UNDP helps more than 100,000 Emergency Response Workers get paid.

26 May 2015
UNDP reaffirms partnership with Japan to support Nepal’s efforts to build back better after devastating earthquake
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) yesterday reaffirmed a strong partnership with Japan on the occasion of the “Build Back Better” Reconstruction Seminar organized by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Government of Nepal in Katmandu.

Sierra Leone’s prisons: tough, but Ebola-free
Central Freetown’s maximum-security prison was built to house just 234. Today, 1400 inmates are crammed between its walls. Cells are packed, record-keeping is haphazard and the authorities have barely enough to keep it all going. And then there’s the threat of Ebola.

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.unep.org/newscentre/?doctypeID=1

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Selected Press Releases
Catastrophic Collapse of Saiga Antelopes in Central Asia
The aerial survey conducted as part of the national monitoring programme earlier this year estimated that the Betpak-dala Saiga population numbered approximately 250,000 animals prior to this mass die-off, which has therefore halved the total population.
28/05/2015

Sustainable Tourism Thrives in Philippines’ Largest Marine Sanctuary
“To conserve biodiversity is to sustain life. We need Nature. Nature does not need us.” UNEP Deputy Executive Director Ibrahim Thiaw
27/05/2015

World Health Assembly Passes Landmark Resolution on Air Pollution and Health.
The resolution identifies 13 measures member states should strive to implement, including actions such as: enabling health authorities to raise awareness on the dangers of air pollution, developing guidelines to limit exposure; and working with relevant private and public sector actors on sustainable solutions.
27/05/2015

Governments, International Organisations, and NGOs Move to Protect Lives and the Climate from Dangerous Air Pollution.
If we manage to reduce short lived climate pollution, we not only save millions of lives but also reduce global warming by as much as 0.6 degrees by 2050
25/05/2015

Alleviating Energy Poverty in Haiti
“We had to teach people in the communities what a cooperative in the electricity sector was all about.” Rithot Thilus, General Manager of CEAC
25/05/2015

UN DESA United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news.html

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Former US President Clinton urges partnerships to boost health
28 May 2015, New York
As the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) met to discuss the role of partnerships in achieving the Post-2015 development agenda, the focus fell on the recent response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa and the need to work together to boost capacity in healthcare systems.

Forum adopts roadmap for future forests
28 May 2015, New York
On 15 May, the eleventh session of the UN Forum on Forests successfully concluded with the approval of a wide-ranging omnibus resolution that extends the International Arrangement on Forests (IAF) until 2030. Demonstrating a high level of political interest in forests, delegates from over 125 Member States participated, including 30 forest Ministers and Vice Ministers.

FAO Food & Agriculture Organization [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.fao.org/news/archive/news-by-date/2015/en/

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Latin America and the Caribbean: World’s first region to reach both international hunger goals
Latin America and the Caribbean has taken a huge step towards the total eradication of hunger by reducing both the percentage and total number of undernourished people to less than half.
28-05-2015

Asia-Pacific region achieves Millennium Development Goal to reduce hunger by half by 2015
The Asia-Pacific region has achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG-1c) by reducing the proportion of people suffering from hunger by half by 2015.
28-05-2015

As South Sudan conflict escalates, 4.6 million people at risk of severe food insecurity
The IPC estimates for April, indicate that most of the people affected – 3 million at Crisis level and 800 000 at the Emergency level – are located in the three states of the country’s northeastern Greater Upper Nile region hardest hit by the fighting. Many others are from the western part of the Greater Bahr el Ghazal region where conditions have deteriorated as a result of a spillover from the conflict.
28-05-2015

Boosting food security in cities through better markets, reduced food waste
Recognizing the growing challenge of feeding the world’s cities and the importance of efficient urban markets, FAO and the World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM) is entering into a partnership to promote sustainability and inclusiveness in the wholesale sector, including developing “best practices” for reducing food waste.
28-05-2015

World hunger falls to under 800 million, eradication is next goal
The number of hungry people in the world has dropped to 795 million – 216 million fewer than in 1990-92 – or around one person out of every nine, according to the latest edition of the annual UN hunger report, The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015.
27-05-2015

UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.unido.org/en/news-centre/news.html

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Forum in Viet Nam raises awareness about transparency, corporate social responsibility
Thursday, 28 May 2015
HO CHI MINH CITY, 28 May 2015 – A forum, held today in Ho Chi Minh City, brought together experts and businessmen to discuss the concept of transparency and its benefits among enterprises.

Sustainable development will require synergies between industrialization, innovation and trade
NEW YORK, 26 May 2015 – Challenges and opportunities of achieving coherence among industrial, trade and innovation policies at all levels, particularly in the context of the post-2015 development agenda, were discussed at an event that took place today at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
It was held on the side-lines of the ongoing UN Financing for Development negotiations, and organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Permanent Missions of Brazil and Italy, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)…

UNWTO World Tourism Organization [to 30 May 2015]
http://media.unwto.org/news

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World Committee on Tourism Ethics proposes International Convention on Tourism Ethics
28 May 2015
The transformation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism into an international convention was the main focus of the 15th meeting of the World Committee on Tourism Ethics (Rovinj, Croatia, 26-27 May 2015).

USAID [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases

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USAID Provides Additional Emergency Food Assistance to Millions of Sudanese People
May 27, 2015
In an effort to continue essential support for millions of the world’s most food insecure people, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) delivered another 47,500 metric tons of sorghum to Sudan. This food, supplied through USAID’s Office of Food for Peace, will support the UN World Food Program’s (WFP) efforts to feed millions of Sudanese children and displaced persons suffering from hunger and malnutrition.

IPU Inter-Parliamentary Union [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.ipu.org/english/news.htm

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Press Releases
Young MPs call for radical responses to counter youth alienation and disengagement
28 May 2015
A major international conference of the world’s young MPs in Tokyo has called for radical policies to end the alienation and radicalization of young people, including new education policies and employment quotas.

About 190 young MPs, 76 of them women attending the IPU Global Conference of Young MPs jointly organized by IPU and the Japanese Parliament, the National Diet, made a series of recommendations on addressing some of the biggest challenges facing the world’s 3.5 billion youth populations. These include unemployment, discrimination and conflict.

During the two-day conference on 27-28 may, the young MPs affirmed their belief that despite disillusionment, apathy, political disengagement and unrest, the world’s youth aspired to democratic, peaceful and prosperous societies and their inclusion into decision-making was critical.

The Conference underlined the need for a comprehensive rights-based framework of action against radicalization, such as guaranteed free education, including anti-violence and conflict-management programmes, laws to criminalize hate speech, and involving young people in all decisions relating to counter-terrorism.

It also called for policies to curb the alienation of young people, including the creation of targeted opportunities to contribute to campaigns, programmes and projects at the community level.

On another key area of concern – youth unemployment – the Conference recommended wide-ranging new action, including quotas to advance equality of opportunities in the job market. It called for education to be better adapted to the needs of the job market, youth empowerment initiatives in business, better access to loans for young entrepreneurs and action to ensure the rights of young migrant workers and first-time workers are respected…

The African Development Bank Group [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/

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Structural change needed to spur innovation in Africa: AfDB 2015 Annual Development Effectiveness Review
29/05/2015 – To make economic growth self-sustaining, African countries must urgently make deep structural changes to propel innovation, notably boosting public investment and strengthening social services. Innovation is needed to create jobs and offer livelihood opportunities to lift the majority of Africans out of poverty, according to the African Development Bank’s 5th Annual Development Effectiveness Review (ADER) released Wednesday in Abidjan.

 
Akinwumi Adesina of Nigeria elected 8th President of the AfDB
28/05/2015 – “Today, I have been given a great responsibility,” Akinwumi A. Adesina said Thursday upon his election as the 8th President of the African Development Bank Group. The President-Elect said he was “humbled by this remarkable vote of confidence in me” on the part of the Bank’s Board of Governors, who met during the Bank Group’s 50th Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

 
AfDB scaled up project funding by 15% to US$ 7.6 billion in 2014
27/05/2015 – The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) realised a 15.3-percent increase in its operations turnover in 2014 compared to 2013 despite the challenging global and regional economic environment, according to AfDB 2014 Annual Report.

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AfDB: A focus on Africa’s economic transformation to inclusive sustainable growth
27/05/2015 – For a continent which has consistently posted robust economic growth in the past decade, recent reports that the continent is the bastion of inequality recording 42.6 on the Gini Coefficient Index (a standard measure of income equality) is quite disturbing.

European Union [to 30 May 2015]
http://europa.eu/newsroom/index_en.htm
[We generally limit coverage to regional and global level initiatives, recognizing that a number of country-level announcements are added each week]

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Eurobarometer: Nine out of 10 Europeans want EU to keep giving humanitarian aid
29/05/2015 12:00 | European Commission

Syrian refugee crisis: EU Trust Fund launches first response programmes for €40 million, helping up to 400,000 people in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq
External relations and foreign affairs | 29/05/2015 11:37 | European Commission

Migration: European Solidarity Stress Test
Employment and social rights | 29/05/2015 09:05 | European Economic and Social Committee

First measures under the European Agenda on Migration: Questions and Answers
Justice and citizens rights | 28/05/2015 15:58 | European Commission

Press release – Tunisia’s Prime Minister Habib Essid on security and migration challenges -…
External relations and foreign affairs | 28/05/2015 11:51 | European Parliament

Press statement by Commissioner Avramopoulos on the first measures under the European Agenda on Migration
Justice and citizens rights | 27/05/2015 14:36 | European Commission

European Commission makes progress on Agenda on Migration
Justice and citizens rights | 27/05/2015 12:30 | European Commission

OECD [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/publicationsdocuments/bydate/
[We generally limit coverage to regional and global level initiatives, recognizing that a number of country-level announcements are added each week]

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Governments must step up efforts to tackle youth unemployment
27-May-2015
More than 35 million young people, aged 16-29, across OECD countries are neither employed nor in education or training (NEET). Overall, young people are twice as likely as prime-age workers to be unemployed. Governments need to do more to give young people a good start to their working lives and help them find work, according to a new OECD report.

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Members renew Angel Gurría’s mandate at the helm of the OECD
26-May-2015
The 34 Member countries of the OECD decided today to renew Secretary-General Angel Gurría’s mandate at the helm of the Organisation for the period 2016-2021. This unanimous decision was an acknowledgment of Secretary-General Gurría’s work to shape a more relevant, inclusive and open organisation.

Africa: making growth more inclusive hinges on unlocking potential of local economies, says the African Economic Outlook 2015
25-May-2015

With Africa’s population set to double by 2050, modernising local economies will be vital to make the continent more competitive and to increase people’s living standards, according to the African Economic Outlook 2015, released at the African Development Bank Group’s 50th Annual Meetings.

Organization of American States (OAS) [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_releases.asp

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Former Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro Took Office as OAS Secretary General
May 26, 2015
The former Foreign Minister of Uruguay Luis Almagro Lemes today took office as Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) during a meeting of the Permanent Council at the headquarters of the Organization in Washington, DC.

The inaugural speech of Secretary General Almagro is available here. His biography is available here.

The Uruguayan diplomat was elected Secretary General on March 18 with 33 votes in favor, one abstention and no votes against from member states. The Chair of the Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the OAS, Neil Parsan, was in charge of welcoming the new OAS Secretary General during the inauguration.

Secretary General Almagro was elected for a period of five years from May 2015 to May 2020. He is the second Uruguayan to lead the OAS…

Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.oic-oci.org/oicv2/news/

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The Islamic Solidarity Fund of the OIC dispatches urgent assistance to Rohingya Refugees
The Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISF) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) announced the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in their Myanmar homeland on crowded unseaworthy boats with many having perished on the perilous journey and thousands remain trapped on turbulent seas…
30/05/2015

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OIC CONTACT GROUP PRAISES ROHINGYA MUSLIMS SPECIAL ENVOY’S EFFORTS, URGES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO FULFILL ITS HUMANITARIAN COMMITMENTS AND RESTORE ROHINGYA RIGHTS
The OIC Ministerial Contact Group on the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar held a meeting today Wednesday 27 May 2015 on the sideline of the 42nd Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers taking place in Kuwait…
28/05/2015

CARE International [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.care-international.org/news/press-releases.aspx

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CARE International Believes High Ambition Needed in Bonn
GLOBAL
29 May 2015
Governments in Bonn need to get down to the nuts and bolts of preparing a fair and ambitious global climate deal if the world is to truly get a successful result just six months from now at the UN COP21 climate talks in Paris this December.

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Malnutrition Rates Reach Critical Levels as South Sudan Faces Further Food Crisis
SOUTH SUDAN
27 May 2015
Across South Sudan, more than 3.8 million people were unable to meet their food needs in April. The figure is expected to rise to 4.6 million by July, according to the latest results of the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC).

Handicap International [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.handicap-international.us/press_releases

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KOBANI: “BEYOND OUR WORST NIGHTMARES”
Posted on May 27, 2015 12:01 AM
Takoma Park, MD—Handicap International mine action experts have assessed the beleaguered city of Kobani, Syria, in April, and discovered an alarming level of unexploded ordnance contamination. Four months of combat, including ground fighting and coalition air strikes, left an average of 10 munitions per square meter in the city center, and destroyed nearly 80% of buildings, according to a Handicap International brief released today.

“What we saw in Kobani was beyond our worst nightmares: a significant part of the city is vastly destroyed and unexploded weapons contamination of all kinds have reached a density and diversity that has hardly ever been witnessed before,” said Frédéric Maio, Handicap International’s Mine Action Program Development Manager. “The unexploded devices and booby traps pose a daily threat to the people who fled Kobani and are now trying to return home. This explosive pollution will make it impossible for people to reconstruct their lives, and blocks access to several areas. It also prevents humanitarian organizations from operating safely and providing the necessary support to this vulnerable population.”…

HelpAge International [to 30 May 2015]
http://www.helpage.org/newsroom/press-room/press-releases/

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Launch of new nutritional project to support hard-hit older people in South Sudan
On Wednesday, 27 May 2015 HelpAge International and its partner Islamic Relief launch a three year programme in Juba, South Sudan to support badly malnourished older people in Warrap State.
Posted: 27 May 2015