Development Drums is a podcast about development news. It is an easy way for anyone working in development, or just interested in the issues, to catch up on the most important stories. A different panel each week discusses the issues.

When sudden food price increases started to make headlines last summer, an estimated 852 million people were already living with crippling hunger, which the United Nations defines as continuously getting too little food to maintain a healthy and minimally active life. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates another 50 million people were added to the count in 2007. For people living with hunger, a long-term solution won’t come quickly enough. Many of them will need emergency assistance. Clearly, the UN and donor nations need to plan and invest more strategically to ensure a more food-secure future.

Kenyatta says the Doha Development agenda is directly linked to economic development and poverty alleviation. He urges the members of the World Trade Organization to remain engaged so the round can be concluded without further delay.

"Our position is that Africa critically needs to realize development and get itself out of poverty through the establishment of fair trade rather than aid," he added. "Africa's opportunity to achieve fair trade has therefore been gravely undermined by the lack of progress in these negotiations."

Oscar Okech, Katine project manager, reports that not everything has gone according to plan. There have been unforeseen delays in each of the five components: water, education, health, governance and livelihoods.

Some of these delays could arguably have been avoided had more thorough preparatory work been done. For example, it was discovered that the majority of Traditional Birth Attendants were illiterate, meaning that Amref's health-related teaching materials were not suitable. The NGO faces similar challenges with village health team (VHT) members...

But these and other setbacks have been duly noted in the report, which also sets out plans to address them. It is rare for the start of any project to go without a hitch and it is hoped that after tackling these teething problems, the pace of progress will increase. Now that adequate administration systems to cope with reader donations and organise regular newsletters are in place, for example, they should run smoothly.

KENYA: Marie: "My one night stand could change my life forever"

Marie*, 25, comes from France but works for an international non-governmental organisation that often requires her to travel around Asia and Africa. While on one such trip she made a decision that could change her life forever...

Development tourist (n.) – An intern or short-term employee on a contract of up to 1 year, who wants to “experience the developing world” and “help out”, and who will afterwards leave the country, leave Africa and/or even leave development aid work altogether.

So remember this little town of Abyei. It’s the tinderbox for Africa’s next war, which will probably resemble Darfur but be carried out on a much wider scale.

“If there is just one bullet in Abyei,” said Col. Valentino Tocmac, the commander of the south’s forces here, “that will be the end of the peace.”

Fresh clashes between Sudan People’s Liberation Movement units and fighters from the Misseriya community in the oil-rich Abyei region have left scores dead and the two sides trading blame over who was responsible for the latest skirmishes.

At least 70 people were killed in the violence which occurred on 1 March in south Al-Mayram, aid workers in the Southern capital of Juba said.