NAMIBIA: Urban Density – A 21st Century Problem
New Era reported on 16 April on a new study on how other cities cope with shortage of urban space with growing urban population densities. Also urban land prices are on the increase, especially when large informal settlements or the urban poor occupy prime centrally located land. What is becoming more of a challenge is urban planning. A new study by the International Institute for Environment and Development and UNFPA suggests a new vision for urban planning that intends to positively transform the way cities grow in developing countries. According to UNFPA, cities in developing countries with populations of 100,000 or more are expected to triple their built-up land area to 600 000 square kilometres within the first three decades of the new century. Read: New Era
SIERRA LEONE: Tour Ahead of Free Health Care Launch
Concord Times reported on 16 April on the poor state of healthcare in the Koivu State. President Ernest Bai Koroma is currently embarking on a nationwide whirlwind tour to assess the readiness of health facilities on the ground ahead of the 27 April free health care launch. The President has always been accompanied by his Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation, Mohamed D. Koroma, senior government medical officials and representatives from supporting organizations including UNFPA and UNICEF of which it was reported that most of the facilities would certainly be ready by 27 April.
DRC: 8,000 Women Were Raped By Warring Factions In 2009 Says UN
The Siasat Daily reported on 16 April and UN News Centre reported on 14 April that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Margot Wallström is on her first tour since her appointment in February, making her way through the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu where more than 8,000 women were raped by warring factions in 2009, according to UNFPA. Read: The Siasat Daily and UN News Centre
CAMEROON: Cameroon’s Population Hits 19.4 Million
CRTV reported on 16 April and the Cameroon Tribune reported on 15 April that the results of the 3rd Population and Housing Census were officially presented in Yaounde. Projected from the results obtained from the third Population and Housing Census of November, 2005 and based on the average demographic growth rate of 2.6 per cent, Cameroon's population as of January 01, 2010 stands at 19,406,100. The results translate what the resident representative of UNFPA described as "scientific rigor and unreserved professionalism." Cameroon, he said, is one of the 50 countries, 20 from Africa, that have benefited from UNFPA support in population and housing headcount. "No census in the world can deceive everyone", he said, stating the exercise in itself counts on everyone. Read: CRTV and Cameroon Tribune
GLOBAL: Are Fewer Mothers Dying?
IRIN reported on 16 April that almost 200,000 fewer women die each year from pregnancy-related complications than previously thought, because new survey methodology and better maternal mortality data mean more accurate mortality estimates, says a global study by the US-based University of Washington. WHO, the World Bank and UNFPA will be releasing new global estimates of maternal mortality in May, followed by country estimates in October. Read: IRIN