GLOBAL

HEALTH - British researchers have released genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild in a bid to combat the spread of dengue fever. The disease infects 50 million people a year and causes about 20,000 deaths annually.

AFRICA 

FOOD SECURITY - African governments have yet to come forth with $350 million in pledged funds to combat famine and food insecurity across the continent. African leaders vowed in August at the continent's first-ever famine fundraising conference for Africa to add to the funds being provided by traditional donors such as the World Bank and Western governments.

HEALTH - Africa faces serious funding gaps that could severely affect the fight against malaria, the African Leaders Malaria Alliance warns. Funding to support anti-malaria efforts such as diagnostic tests and insecticide-treated bed nets through 2015 is short by about $3.3 billion.

D.R. CONGO - The lives of thousands of HIV-positive people in the Democratic Republic of Congo are at risk as the country faces declining donor funding and a severe shortage of HIV treatment.

COTE D'IVOIRE - Eleven people have died from meningitis out of 40 reported cases in four departments across Côte d'Ivoire as of 31 January, leaving people scrambling to access the vaccine for their families.

SOMALIA - The self-declared Republic of Somaliland is grappling with high child and maternal mortality rates, malnutrition and inadequate medical personnel, health officials says.

ZIMBABWE - With global funding for HIV/AIDS on the decline, Zimbabwe's innovative AIDS levy - a 3 percent tax on income - has become a promising source of funding for the country, with a dramatic increase in revenue collected in the past two years.

ASIA & PACIFIC

MYANMAR - Reform occurring in Myanmar has opened the door to the possible repatriation of 1 million refugees scattered throughout camps across Bangladesh, India, China, Thailand and Malaysia. Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Karen and Rohingya refugees have no legal status and have been displaced for decades.

WFWO's Communications Team 

GLOBAL

FOOD - Drought and famine are not unexpected events but rather a predictable result of a global food system riddled with inequality and imbalance, says the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food. Recalibrating how the world views such events is key to putting systems into place to act pre-emptively to avoid widespread health crises and death associated with food insecurity.

CLEAN ENERGY - Growth of global clean-energy industries are at risk of a slowdown as a result of Chinese dominance of the market for rare minerals, which has led to soaring costs, as much as 10 times the levels in 2010, for hard-to-find metals widely used in the manufacture of wind turbines, solar panels, electric car batteries and energy-efficient light bulbs. "There are so far not many alternatives," said the author of a report urging companies to focus on recycling and reusing resources.

AFRICA

CHAD - Poor-quality emergency immunization campaigns and low routine polio immunization coverage are helping the polio virus to spread in Chad, with 132 cases reported in 2011 - five times the number in 2010. More commitment is needed across the board, especially from local health authorities, to try to get immunizations right, say aid agencies.

SOMALIA - The UN has expressed concern over a ban by Somalia's Al-Shabab insurgents on aid distributions by the ICRC, with the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia saying the move would reverse gains made in the country's food security.

TANZANIA - A pilot community programme to improve TB detection in northern Tanzania has shown good results and could be replicated nationwide as the country seeks to improve its TB treatment and prevention systems.

ASIA & PACIFIC

THAILAND - The Thai government is pressing ahead with efforts to mitigate the risk of flooding during the upcoming rainy season, but greater coordination is still needed, flood experts say.

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN 

MEXICO - Some 2 million people in rural communities in 19 of Mexico's 31 states are in need of water and food assistance as a result of what the government is characterizing as the worst drought in the country's history. Already an estimated 7% of the farmland in the country's north and center has been wiped out, while land elsewhere is too dry to grow any crops, officials say.

WFWO's Communications Team 

GLOBAL

CLIMATE CHANGE - Dozens of countries have signed on to the Manila Declaration after meetings in the Philippines, agreeing to work together to protect coastal communities around the world from the effects of climate change. A United Nations Environment Program report published this month outlines ways in which countries can promote economic gain and stability through sustainable investment and development in the marine sector.

HEALTH - Thirteen of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies have agreed to donate drugs, as well as share research, to eradicate 10 neglected tropical diseases, among them Guinea worm, that affect some 1.4 billion people worldwide. "These ancient diseases are now being brought to their knees with stunning speed," said the director-general of the UN World Health Organization.

AFRICA

COTE D'IVOIRE - Hundreds of children in Côte d'Ivoire were separated from their parents when people fled their villages during post-election violence in 2011, but nine months after the conflict formally ended only a quarter of those children have been reunified with their families, says the UN Children's Fund.

MOZAMBIQUE - About 40 people have died and more than 100,000 are affected by twin storms that struck Mozambique 18-26 January, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

ZIMBABWE - Over the past few weeks some 900 residents of the Zimbabwean capital Harare have been diagnosed with typhoid, and about 60 have been admitted to hospital, say health authorities.

ASIA & PACIFIC

PHILIPPINES - The Philippine government has made geo-hazard maps, which outline areas prone to natural disasters, publicly available in a bid to reduce vulnerability at community level.

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN 

HAITI has made significant progress in earthquake recovery efforts and the international community must remain engaged to help promote long-term development, says the United Nations Development Programme regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean. Haiti has worked to clear debris, enhance security and spur increased economic activity in the two years since the deadly earthquake struck but development is a long-term process.

WFWO's Communications Team