8 September 2001
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has been invited to be the patron of the African Youth Group, currently participating in the UN conference against racism (WCAR) in Durban, South Africa, the Rwandan News Agency (RNA) announced recently.
"The African Youth Group made their request to President Kagame on Thursday evening. "We selected President Kagame to be our patron because of Rwanda's commitment to rights and interests of youth," African Youth Group leader Mohamed Haji-Kella of Sierra Leone was quoted as saying. The youth group also sought Kagame's assistance in establishing an "African Youth Charter" to be signed by all African heads of state, with commitments to a wide range of issues including peace, development and human rights.
Rwanda: WFP warns of worsening food shortages in Gikongoro province
Assessments conducted during August indicate worsening food shortages in Gikongoro province, due largely to heavy rains in March and April that caused serious damage to crops in almost all districts of the province, WFP reported in its monthly update for Rwanda. The districts of Nshili, Kivu, Rukondo and Musebeya were most affected, where over 2,000 hectares of crops such as potatoes, peas, beans and maize were damaged. In other districts of the province, namely Kinyamakara, Karama, Karambo and Nyamagabe, chronic food insecurity as a result of poor soils has exacerbated food insecurity. A coordination meeting of all international and national NGOs involved in agriculture in Gikongoro province was held during the month to discuss the deteriorating food security situation, and called for more food-for-work activities to meet the short-term needs of those most affected by shortages.
WFP also reported that it distributed 1,861 mt of food aid to 102,260 Rwandans during the month of August. Beneficiaries included 10,567 persons in selective feeding programmes; 29,061 refugees; 3,167 returnees; 15,994 food-for-work participants; and 43,471 persons in food for training activities. Some 56,943 of the total beneficiaries were female.
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