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An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission visited Cotonou during January 13–21, 2011 to continue discussions on the first review of a program supported by the Extended Credit Facility, which was approved by the IMF Executive Board on June 14, 2010. The mission followed an earlier mission in September-October 2010 and discussions in Washington in October and December.

The Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have noted that the ECCU region has been hit hard by the global economic downturn and faces a protracted recovery. The global financial and economic crisis has also exposed areas of significant weaknesses, notwithstanding reforms implemented by a number of member countries. The growing fiscal deficits, unsustainable debt levels, and stress in the financial sector need to be addressed forcefully to maintain confidence in the currency union and the currency board. Directors were encouraged by the authorities’ commitment to implement comprehensive measures to stabilize the fiscal and financial sectors and put the ECCU economies on a more sustainable growth path.

New York: With climate change presaging natural mega-disasters, aid workers facing mounting attacks in conflict areas and the economic crisis crimping resources, the United Nations office coordinating the global humanitarian response announced its agenda for 2011 today: more lives saved, more rapidly, with fewer gaps and less duplication.

New York: Women continue to reap less benefits from employment in agriculture than men in rural areas, and the recent global financial and food crises have slowed down progress towards gender equality in farming-related labour, three United Nations agencies said in a joint report unveiled today.

New York: The United Nations health agency today called for action to reduce the exposure of children to the marketing of food with high contents of fat, sugar or salt, which exposed them to the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCD) caused by poor diet during their lives.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved a successor two-year arrangement for Poland under the Flexible Credit Line (FCL) in an amount equivalent to SDR 19.17 billion (about US$30 billion, or 1,400 percent of quota).

New York: The drought is worsening in many parts of strife-torn Somalia, with herders reported to be moving into Mogadishu, the capital, with their livestock for the first time ever due to lack of pasture and water, the United Nations reported today.

New York: The economic upturn in most Latin American and Caribbean countries in 2010 fuelled a 0.6 percentage point drop in unemployment – from 8.1 per cent in 2009 to 7.5 per cent – and is expected to lead to a further decrease of between 0.2 and 0.4 percentage points this year, the United Nations reported today.

New York: The United Nations human rights chief today voiced deep concern over the fate of a group of about 40 migrants who have been missing since they were abducted in Mexico last month, and death threats to a prominent human rights defender assisting other migrants who escaped the kidnapping ordeal.

New York: Five countries in southern Africa have issued flood warnings following unusually heavy rainfall throughout the region, the United Nations humanitarian office reported today.