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Tuesday, 3 August 2004
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Annan urges pressure on Ivorian leaders to implement peace agreement

Secretary-general Kofi Annan hopes the parties in Cote d'Ivoire will honor their commitments agreed in Accra, Ghana over the weekend. Under that accord, the parties decided to renew their commitment to the Linas Marcoussis Agreement brokered by France last year to end the conflict in Cote d'Ivoire. Mr. Annan says the agreement was signed willingly by the Ivoirian leaders in the presence of leaders from the region and the public:

"And I sensed that they themselves were beginning to feel that the time has come for them to move on"

Annan who's just back from West Africa also has a warning for the Sudanese government.
He wants Sudan to comply with last Friday's Security Council resolution threatening sanctions:

"I think the resolution is very clear, that if they do not perform, there will be consequences, and I think the government of Sudan has got the message loud and clear. You can tell by their reaction"

The Security Council resolution gives Sudan 30 days to disarm and prosecute the militia.

Global Polio Eradication Campaign welcomes immunization campaign in Kano, Nigeria

The last remaining obstacle to increasing vaccinations throughout Africa has been removed. That assessment comes from Dr. David Heyman of the World Health Organization.
Speaking on the resumption of polio immunization campaigns in Kano, Nigeria, Dr. Heyman says the decision to vaccinate the children against polio comes at a critical time in the polio eradication campaign:

"That would help the northern state catch up with the southern states and the rest of West Africa and prepare them for the synchronized immunization campaign that must occur in 22 countries in west and central Africa beginning in September and October of this year"

Dr. Heyman says the re-launched polio vaccination activities in northern Nigeria have been surprisingly effective in reaching children despite the fact that there were many rumors in circulation. He says 80 per cent of the children paralyzed by polio in the world this year are in Nigeria.

UNHCR airlifts humanitarian material to eastern Chad

The French military is assisting the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), in airlifting more than 40 tons of humanitarian supplies to the eastern Chadian town of Abeche. UNHCR says the emergency airlift is aimed at getting supplies to Sudanese refugees as quickly as possible. Spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis says the airlift has drastically cut the length of time needed for transport which otherwise would have come by truck over roads already in poor condition:

" The airlifted supplies include cholera medical kits, badly needed telecommunication equipment to improve communications in the vast border zone where the refugees are hosted, basic medical kits, fuel bladders and other relief items"

UNHCR says it is positioning the cholera kits in camps to allow for a speedy response to any possible outbreak of the disease.

WFP extends emergency assistance to Palestinians

The UN food agency (WFP), says it will extend its emergency operation in the Palestinian Territories giving assistance to more than half a million Palestinians for a further 12 months. WFP says the decision comes as a result of the deteriorating situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. Spokesperson in Geneva Christiane Berthiaume says there is no longer a viable economy in the Palestinian territories as a result of political instability, military incursions, curfews, closures and demolition of houses:

"People have lost the means, their coping mechanisms; they are selling whatever they have, they have borrowed money, they have reduced the number and quality of means they are taking per day"

Spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume says the problem has become so serious that there are now cases of malnutrition among children and women in the West Bank and Gaza.

UNICEF seeks $8 million for drought-affected Kenya

The UN children's agency (UNICEF) appealed for more than $8 million to help an estimated two million Kenyans facing severe food shortages due to lack of rain. UNICEF's chief of nutrition in Nairobi Maniza Zaman says young children are the worst hit in any emergency. She says "it is estimated that there are more than 37-thousand children who are malnourished" in the worst affected areas.