DUBAI, 16 October 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: Boys' education slides in Helmand AFGHANISTAN: Aid being pre-positioned to avert crisis in winter AFGHANISTAN: Rate of refugee return slows ahead of winter AFGHANISTAN: Over 155 civilians killed in suicide attacks, fighting in September NEPAL: Poor in remote villages struggle to access health care PAKISTAN: Owner-driven housing making headway in quake-zone PAKISTAN: Teacher's murder heightens fear in northwest SRI LANKA: New houses for some tsunami survivors, dashed hopes for others TAJIKISTAN: Raising awareness of natural disasters

AFGHANISTAN: Boys' education slides in Helmand

More than 30,000 pupils who attended schools in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan last year have been absent in 2007, the provincial department of education told IRIN. About 102,700 students attended school in 2006, fewer than 14 percent of them girls.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74690

AFGHANISTAN: Aid being pre-positioned to avert crisis in winter

The government of Afghanistan and UN agencies are pre-positioning humanitarian relief aid in 18 provinces of the country before snowfall and heavy rains block roads and impede access to areas with rugged terrain during the winter and early spring months.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74710

AFGHANISTAN: Rate of refugee return slows ahead of winter

Fewer Afghan refugees are returning home from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan than in the summer when uptake of a temporary repatriation assistance programme was at its peak, especially in Pakistan.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74725

AFGHANISTAN: Over 155 civilians killed in suicide attacks, fighting in September

Over 155 Afghan civilians died in ground military operations, aerial strikes and suicide attacks by Taliban insurgents, US, NATO and Afghan government forces in September alone, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has told IRIN.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74755

NEPAL: Poor in remote villages struggle to access health care

Debu Rawal has walked nearly 20 hours from her remote Jagannath village to reach the health camp at the Kolti airport area of Bajura District, nearly 700km northwest of the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, to get treatment for her one-year-old daughter, who is severely malnourished.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74713

PAKISTAN: Owner-driven housing making headway in quake-zone

In October 2005, the home of Mohammad Saddique, a 54-year-old civil servant, collapsed in Pakistan's worst natural disaster in recent times, forcing him and his family to live in a nearby tent before rebuilding could begin. But despite the challenges, including rising construction costs, not only did Mohammad rebuild his home, he did so better.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74695

PAKISTAN: Teacher's murder heightens fear in northwest

Saadia Jan, 19, bites her nails uncertainly, as she perches on the window sill of her parent's house in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Till a few days ago, Saadia had her future neatly chalked out in her mind. "I had decided to become a teacher. In fact, since I was 12-years-old, I knew I wanted to be one," she told IRIN. But, Saadia's plans are now in shreds.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74779

SRI LANKA: New houses for some tsunami survivors, dashed hopes for others

According to UN-HABITAT (the UN Human Settlements Programme), the UN's lead agency in post-tsunami reconstruction, at least 76 percent of the country's total tsunami housing requirements have now been met, with a little over 92,200 houses having been built in the 12 coastal districts hit by the disaster.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74692

TAJIKISTAN: Raising awareness of natural disasters

A series of activities to raise public awareness on natural disasters, disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness are under way in Tajikistan on 10 October to mark the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74729

© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: <a href="http://www.IRINnews.org">http://www.IRINnews.org</a>

IRIN news