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thumb for For fast and flexible disaster relief housing - try bamboo

23 Nov 2009 14:48:00 GMT
For fast and flexible disaster relief housing - try bamboo
NEW DELHI (AlertNet)- When the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami devastated India's Andaman Islands, some 4,000 prefabricated bamboo houses provided a quick and effective way to give shelter to thousands made homeless by the disaster.

Dubbed the "fastest-growing plant on earth", bamboo provides structures that are durable, cost-efficient and easy to construct and transport and could revolutionise the provision of shelter for millions of people displaced by natural disasters and conflict, manufacturers say.

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19 Nov 2009 16:07:00 GMT
India's planned assault on Maoists troubles European aid body
NEW DELHI (AlertNet) - India's plans to launch a major offensive against Maoist rebels in the country's heartlands could jeopardise much-needed humanitarian operations in the impoverished area, the European Commission said on Thursday.

The government has signalled that an assault against insurgents is imminent in the central state of Chhattisgarh -- the epicentre of violence between Maoist fighters, security forces and pro-government militias since 2005.

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thumb for Q+A-How can we make humanitarian aid more effective?

18 Nov 2009 13:39:00 GMT
Q+A-How can we make humanitarian aid more effective?
LONDON (AlertNet) - For decades experts have been debating how humanitarian aid money donated by governments can be stretched further and provide better assistance to survivors of wars and natural disasters.

These questions are becoming increasingly important as climate change causes more frequent droughts and floods and as the global recession puts aid funding under pressure.

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thumb for Afghans say "more effective aid" needed to halt decades of violence - Oxfam

18 Nov 2009 09:31:00 GMT
Afghans say "more effective aid" needed to halt decades of violence - Oxfam
NEW DELHI (AlertNet) - Afghans say foreign donors must commit and deliver "more effective aid" if the country is to pull itself out of poverty and end more than three decades of violence, Oxfam International said in a report on Wednesday.

"The Cost of War" - a survey based on interviews with over 700 people across 14 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces - found that most Afghans felt poverty, unemployment and corruption were the main drivers of conflict in the country since 1978.

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thumb for Birth certificates could save millions from destitution and exploitation

16 Nov 2009 10:09:00 GMT
Birth certificates could save millions from destitution and exploitation
LONDON (AlertNet) - Both in times of crisis and non-crisis, children without a birth certificate are at risk of exploitation, violence and abuse, according to a report by Plan International.

The 2005 Pakistan earthquake killed an estimated 17,000 children but thousands more were left destitute because they could not prove who they were or claim what belonged to them.

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