UNDP Administrator visits UN projects in Amran province
The Source: AMRAN,/hadhramaut.info/sabanews.net - 26/01/2011
Home \
Local News
On her last field trip in Yemen, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Ms. Helen Clark has visited three UN projects in Amran province.
She visited the UNDP Mine Detection Dogs Center in Wadhi Dahr, in Amran. Ms. Clark was shown dogs’ skills in detecting mines under difficult circumstances and in difficult terrains.
In addition, the project presented to the UNDP Administrator the impressive achieved results in demining vast areas of the country and the plans for the future.
The center was established in 2001, with support from Germany. It is part of the UNDP Yemen long intervention to improve mine detection in mine survey and clearance. It contributes to the Government fulfilling its mine-ban treaty obligations under the Ottawa convention by 1 March 2015.Due to topography and environmental conditions in Yemen, demining operations in many mine polluted areas are difficult, risky and costly.Accordingly, mine detection dogs are suitable for such locations as they prove to be faster and more cost effective compared to manual demining. Furthermore, the Landmines Impact Survey results clearly indicate that use of mine detection dogs is suitable in most of mine suspected areas in Yemen.In her capacity as Ms. Clark also visited the World Food Programme (WFP) Health Center in Thula, in Amran. She reviewed the services delivered by the health center such as; screening women and children for malnutrition, support them with food assistance, offer basic training and education on good nutrition, and others.WFP reached 11,100 beneficiaries last year though eight health facilities, including one rural hospital, two health centers, and five health units.Also, Ms.Clark visited UNICEF Outpatient Therapeutic Care Program (OTP) at the Thula Hospital. Since December 2010, a total of 53 severely malnourished children have been referred to and undergone the program, which is an eight-week regimen of therapeutic feeding.UNICEF runs 356 Outpatient Therapeutic Care Program (OTP) centers around Yemen, and is set to double the number in 2011. During her visit, Ms. Clark announced that the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) will formulate and implement a UN Joint Program on Food Security and Nutrition, under the new United Nations Development Assistance Framework.The program will be part of Government efforts to implement the national food security and nutrition action plans.Ms. Clark was accompanied by: Amat Al-Alim Alsoswa, UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States Director, Pratibha Mehta, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator – UNDP Resident Representative, and other high UN officials.
|