U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Southern Africa

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SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 149
29 September - 03 October 2003


CONTENTS:

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Loss of "fragile gains" without donor support - UN
ZIMBABWE:Disease outbreaks feared as water authority moves to cut supply 
ANGOLA: Coffee industry shows signs of recovery
MALAWI: Malawi getting on track again - IMF
SOUTH AFRICA: Chronic poverty among aged
SWAZILAND:Pro-democracy groups draft 'alternative' constitution
ZAMBIA: Growing need in some areas as cost of living rises
MOZAMBIQUE: Lack of documents deny children access to social benefits



SOUTHERN AFRICA: Loss of "fragile gains" without donor support - UN

The United Nations on Friday called on donors to step up assistance for
its operations in Southern Africa, warning that without immediate
contributions the "fragile gains" made over the last 12 months could be
destroyed.

"This is an extremely serious situation and, even though there are fewer
people at risk, there are still millions across the region desperately in
need of assistance. The enormous gains made last year are now threatened
by the lack of funds to continue supporting the most vulnerable,
especially women and children," James T. Morris, the UN
Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern
Africa, told journalists in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In July the UN appealed for US $530 million - $310 million for food relief
and $220 million for non-food items - to address the needs of 6.5 million
vulnerable people in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and
Zimbabwe.

Morris noted that donors had so far contributed just 20 percent of the
required funds, leaving a shortfall of $423 million. The appeal for
non-food items had raised only $9.5 million, or 4.3 percent, of overall
needs.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36994


SADC appeal to control spread of foot-and-mouth

The Southern African Development Community has appealed for US $26 million
to control the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the region, IRIN
reported on Tuesday.
 
Fourteen million dollars is expected to go towards the emergency phase of
the operation, while $12 million would be directed towards recovery, the
regional grouping said in statement.

SADC noted that, in the past, most member states had been able to deal
with the spread of transboundary animal diseases (TADS), but consecutive
drought conditions between 2001 and 2002 had limited grazing areas,
resulting in increased competition for grazing and watering points.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36911


ZIMBABWE: Disease outbreaks feared as water authority moves to cut supply

Plans by the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) to disconnect water
services to all towns owing it money could trigger widespread outbreaks of
disease, which the health ministry may not have the capacity to control,
IRIN reported on Friday.

The Directorate of Disease Prevention and Control, part of the Ministry of
Health and Child Welfare, said there was a danger of diseases spreading to
neighbouring countries and blossoming into regional epidemics as people
moved from one country to another.

Dr Stanley Midzi, director in the Centre for Disease Prevention and
Control in the ministry, said they were already overstretched in terms of
human and material resources and funding.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36995


Malaria death toll has reached 786 since January

Officials announced this week that malaria had claimed the lives of 786
people between January and the end of September, and warned that critical
anti-malaria outreach programmes may not be sufficiently funded.

This follows reports that some hospitals had been forced to turn patients
away as they had run out of food and medicines, and experts warning that
Zimbabwe's public health system was on life-support.

Stanley Midzi, director of the Directorate of Disease Prevention and
Control, told IRIN that most of the people who had died of malaria were
from the sprawling illegal gold-panning settlements along major rivers in
the malaria-prone areas.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36963


Deepening crisis affects health care

The announcement this week by Shangani Hospital in Matabeleland South that
it would no longer admit patients because it ran out of food a fortnight
ago, is further evidence of Zimbabwe's deepening economic and humanitarian
crises, IRIN reported on Tuesday.

The hospital, situated in a former commercial farming area, serves an
estimated 12,500 newly resettled families. A senior hospital official, who
refused to be named, said the hospital had not been able to admit patients
because the institution ran out of staple maize meal and other foods two
weeks ago.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36910


ANGOLA: Coffee industry shows signs of recovery

On Thursday IRIN reported on attempts to revive Angola's once flourishing
coffee industry. Until 1975 Angola was the 4th largest coffee producer in
the world. Today its coffee output barely satisfies local needs.

In an attempt to relaunch the industry, small private producers have been
attracted with a series of government grants and cheap loans for inputs.

The Angolan National Institute of Coffee (INCA) and the World Food
Programme (WFP) have also launched a project that provides employment for
demobilised soldiers and their families.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36964


UNICEF programmes severely underfunded

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Angola on Wednesday called for further
support from donors for its health and education programmes, warning that
the critical shortage of funds was seriously hampering its operations.

"Now, more than at any time since independence, Angola possesses enormous
potential for recovery and prosperity. But with funding for programmes in
health and education floundering at below 20 percent, UNICEF warns that it
is fighting to meet the enormous demand created in post-war Angola," the
agency said in a statement.

Since its Consolidated Appeal (CAP) for US $23.872 million in 2003, UNICEF
has received 19.9 percent of the required funds for health, and just
$452,000 of the US $4.88 million requested for education.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36930


Poor state of roads hampers aid agencies

Aid groups in Angola this week called for the emergency repair and
de-mining of roads and bridges if the country is to avert a new
humanitarian emergency.

Most of Angola's transport network was ruined by years of war and neglect,
and aid workers expect the situation to deteriorate with the onset of the
rainy season. Moreover, the ever-present danger of land mines also grows
during the rainy season, as land mines are brought closer to the surface
when the soil is washed away.

"When the rains come, there is a risk that the roads and even the
warehouses will be flooded. [The] transport of new food will be
practically impossible," Simon Trepanier, officer-in-charge at WFP's
Huambo office, told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36880


MALAWI: Malawi getting on track again - IMF

This week the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Malawi recommended that
the body's executive board, which meets in late October, authorise the
resumption of aid disbursements to the country.

IMF Resident Representative in Malawi Germa Begashaw told IRIN on Tuesday
that "disbursements would follow only upon the conclusion of the Board
discussion, which is now scheduled to take place on October 20, 2003".

The IMF has been withholding disbursements of millions of dollars because
it has not been satisfied with Malawi's fiscal management.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36915


SOUTH AFRICA: Chronic poverty among aged

According to a recent report commissioned by HelpAge International (HAI),
a quarter of all older people living in South Africa may be classified as
chronically poor, with most living in households earning less than US $100
per month.

The report, "Chronic Poverty and Older People", noted that while the aged
in South Africa continued to work well into the later stages of ageing,
fulfilling an important economic role in the household, "chronic poverty
reduces the options of older people to move from producer to consumer".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36932


Govt clarifies Mbeki's statement on HIV/AIDS

IRIN reported on Tuesday that the South African government this week moved
to diffuse the controversy sparked by comments President Thabo Mbeki
reportedly made to the Washington Post that he knew nobody who had died of
AIDS, nor anyone who was HIV positive.

The Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) released a
statement on behalf of the presidency in a bid to "clarify" Mbeki's
comments and "put the record straight".

GCIS said that at the end of the recent interview with the Washington
Post, "the president agreed to being asked a personal question, which was
whether he knew of anyone in his family or amongst his close associates
who had died of AIDS or was infected by HIV".

Mbeki's response was that he did not.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36909


SWAZILAND: Pro-democracy groups draft 'alternative' constitution

On Monday IRIN reported on efforts by pro-democracy groups to begin the
process of drafting an 'alternative constitution' to counter the current
government draft.

"The most fundamental difficulty is that the constitutional process has
been exclusionary in nature. We invite all Swazis to help create a genuine
constitution," read a statement issued by the organisers of the
convention.

Invited government representatives did not attend the constitutional
convention at the weekend. "I would have to see who these people are
before I attend," Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini told the Times of
Swaziland last week.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36883


ZAMBIA: Growing need in some areas as cost of living rises

On Wednesday UN agencies warned there may be pockets of desperate need not
covered by previous vulnerability assessments.

In its latest Zambia Situation Update, the UN Development Programme (UNDP)
said "the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) had received
alarming reports concerning the food situation in districts that were not
identified by the VAC (Vulnerability Assessment Committee) in April 2003"
as having been in need of food aid, or in need of close monitoring.

"The districts are Sesheke in Southern Province, Kabompo and Mwinilunga in
North Western Province, Kaputa in Northern Province, Chinsali and Isoka in
Eastern Province, Mkushi and Kapirimphoshi in Central Province," UNDP
reported.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36934


MOZAMBIQUE: Lack of documents deny children access to social benefits

IRIN reported on Friday that the lack of an identity document (ID) or
birth certificate has denied many Mozambican children access to social
services.

Eighteen-year-old Manuel Fernando is one of them. Like many youths in
Mozambique, his life has been a struggle from birth. And, like many other
children, the basic right of receiving a birth certificate has been denied
him.

His mother did not register his birth during the first 30 days of his
life, during which time registration is free, and now she cannot afford to
pay the 50,000 Meticais (about US $2) charge imposed after the 30-day
limit.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=36999


IRIN-SA
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Fax: +27 11 447-5472
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za

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