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 225
2 - 8 April 2005


CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: MDC issues ultimatum over poll 'irregularities'
ANGOLA: Life goes on at epicentre of Marburg outbreak
NAMIBIA: Emerging farmers need skills, collateral
SOUTH AFRICA: Shared breastfeeding and poor medical hygiene fuels
   HIV/AIDS
SWAZILAND: Health workers score with TB campaign
ZAMBIA: Belt-tightening finally pays off as debt repayments slashed
MADAGASCAR: EU releases $12 million to boost food security after floods
LESOTHO: Demand for AIDS treatment could jeopardise quality of care
MOZAMBIQUE: New cholera vaccine shows promise
BOTSWANA: Corporal punishment extended to women


ZIMBABWE: MDC issues ultimatum over poll 'irregularities'

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has given the Zimbabwe 
Electoral Commission (ZEC) 24 hours to explain discrepancies in the 
final tally of votes cast in the parliamentary elections, which saw the 
ruling ZANU-PF win a two-thirds majority.

MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube said if that did not happen, they 
would take their case to the Electoral Court. The MDC made electoral 
petitions after the 2000 elections, but since the Electoral Court had 
not yet been established, these cases were subject to normal court 
proceedings and were only finalised just before last week's elections.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46494


Govt plans to replace DOTS

Zimbabwe plans to introduce a new combination of drugs to treat 
tuberculosis (TB) early next year, an official in the Ministry of Health 
and Child Welfare told IRIN.

Owen Mugurungi, a senior officer with the ministry's HIV/AIDS and 
tuberculosis programme, told IRIN that the Fixed Combination Dose (FDS) 
would replace the existing Directly Observed Treatment Short-course 
(DOTS) strategy.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46491


Tobacco farmers boycott auction

Zimbabwe's tobacco marketing season failed to take off this week as 
farmers refused to sell at the price offered by merchants at the Tobacco 
Sales Floors in the capital, Harare.

Buyers offered the farmers a maximum of US $0.45 per kg, down from $3 
per kg last year, but farmers are demanding not less than $3 per kg and 
have threatened to withhold their crop until fairer prices are obtained.

Of the 1,000 bales brought to auction, only 300 bales had been sold by 
the time the boycott started.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46489


SA bank breathes new life into tobacco industry

South Africa's ABSA Bank has signed a US $25 million loan deal with the 
Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group (ZABG) in a bid to revive Zimbabwe's 
ailing tobacco industry.

Production has declined dramatically since 1999 and a new low is 
anticipated in 2005, with less than 100 million kg expected on auction 
floors when the marketing season opens this week.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46469


Opposition mulls court challenge to poll result as protests break out

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is collecting 
evidence of alleged irregularities during Zimbabwe's recent legislative 
poll for a possible petition to the Electoral Court.

Meanwhile, more than 400 opposition supporters took to the streets of 
the capital, Harare, on Monday to protest the alleged rigging of the 31 
March election.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46448


Global Fund grant to come through, finally

After a three-year delay, a US $10.3 million grant to Zimbabwe by the 
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is "very close to 
signing", an official told IRIN on Monday.

"The grant had been approved in principal when Zimbabwe had applied for 
it in 2002 - unfortunately, there were delays. We are now just waiting 
for some minor technical details to be addressed," said Jon Liden, 
spokesman for the Global Fund.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46443


MDC refuses to throw in towel, says election rigged

Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party's resounding poll victory, clinching 
two-thirds of parliamentary seats, has been condemned as a sham by the 
main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

ZANU-PF won 78 of the 120 contested seats, while the MDC slumped to 41 - 
down from the 58 seats it captured in 2000 in its maiden election - and 
an independent candidate took one.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46432


ANGOLA: Life goes on at epicentre of Marburg outbreak

Residents of Angola's northern Uige province, the epicentre of a 
haemorrhagic fever outbreak that has killed more than 150 people, are 
trying as best they can to get on with their lives despite living under 
the shadow of the epidemic.

Teca Garcia, the resident programme officer in Uige for the UN 
Children's Fund (UNICEF), told IRIN on Wednesday that the horror that 
enveloped the provincial capital in the days after the Marburg virus was 
identified had eased as the local population learnt more about the bug.

"There is still a lot of fear among the people, but the panic has to 
some extent passed, thanks to the social mobilisation officers getting 
information to the people," he said in a telephone interview from the 
provincial capital, also called Uige.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46481


Marburg death toll climbs to 155

As the death toll from Angola's lethal Marburg outbreak reached 155, the 
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said it was spearheading a 
nationwide campaign to inform the general public about the haemorrhagic 
fever, its symptoms and prevention methods.

UNICEF's representative in Angola, Mario Ferrari, told IRIN that the 
epidemic was not yet under control and urgently called for more 
protective clothing for health workers. "Although the overall response 
to the emergency is stepping up impressively, there is still a long way 
to go before we can claim to have the situation under control," he 
noted.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46456


Rare sable antelope survives the war

The rare giant sable antelope (Hippotragus niger varianien), unique to 
Angola and feared extinct after almost three decades of civil war, has 
survived.

A majestic but notoriously skittish beast, the 'Palanca Negra' is 
informally regarded as the country's national animal. The striking 
curved horns of the adult male, which can grow up to 165 cm long, appear 
on the logo of Angola's national airline and football team.

Many assumed that 27 years of fighting had wiped out the species because 
there had been no confirmed sighting since 1982.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46514


NAMIBIA: Emerging farmers need skills, collateral

Formerly disadvantaged Namibians who have taken up farming under the 
government's land reform programme are in dire need of skills and farm 
management training, as well as collateral for obtaining credit, 
according to a new report.

The study, commissioned by the Namibia Agricultural Union, which 
represents about 3,800 mostly white commercial farmers, said black 
farmers "had not received [from government] the support in terms of 
agricultural and other services, as well as training they require, to 
become successful farmers".

Another problem was the lack of collateral to enable them to buy farm 
implements or breeding stock to improve the quality of their herds.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46527


Textile factory closure leaves thousands without work

The imminent closure of one of the largest foreign-owned textile 
companies in Namibia is expected to deal a serious blow to the country's 
fledgling textile industry, IRIN reported on Wednesday.

The Namibia Food and Allied Workers' Union (NAFAU) announced on Monday 
that it had received confirmation of the permanent closure on 30 April 
of the Rhino Garments factory, a subsidiary of the Malaysian company, 
Ramatex Textiles.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46487


Concerns over power shortage

Namibia has raised concerns over future power supplies after South 
Africa's power utility, Eskom, announced it could no longer provide a 
steady supply of electricity.

Eskom notified the Namibian Power Corporation (NamPower) last week that 
rising domestic demand in both countries had made it increasingly 
difficult to continue supplying electricity to the southwest African 
country. Namibia imports up to 50 percent of its power needs from Eskom.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46444


SOUTH AFRICA: Shared breastfeeding and poor medical hygiene fuels 
HIV/AIDS

New research by South Africa's Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) 
suggests that negligent breastfeeding at public hospitals in the Free 
State province is placing infants at risk of HIV infection.

Besides the obvious route of mother-to-child transmission, shared 
breastfeeding emerged as the single most important factor associated 
with child HIV infection in the study commissioned by the Nelson Mandela 
Foundation and released at the current Seventh International AIDS Impact 
Conference in Cape Town.

Dr Olive Shisana, executive director of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS and 
Health at the HSRC, told IRIN that although there was no doubt of the 
capabilities of public healthcare staff at the hospitals where the study 
was conducted, gaps still remained.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46495


Gold miners face a bleak future as retrenchments loom

For six years Elvis Dlamani worked as an electrician at one of the many 
gold mines that dot the landscape of South Africa's North West province. 
Eighteen months ago he was among 3,000 workers retrenched from two mines 
in the area owned by DRDGold.

When asked about his future, 32-year-old Dlamani shook his head, stared 
at the floor and said, "Just to suffer."

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46468


SWAZILAND: Health workers score with TB campaign

A tuberculosis (TB) treatment programme recently introduced in Swaziland 
is credited with lowering the number of TB patients, at a time when 
other African nations face a rising number of cases.

Dumsile Nxumalo, the first Swazi to participate in the Directly Observed 
Treatment Short-course (DOTS) TB programme, believes she is alive today 
because of the initiative.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46526


Some optimism despite gloomy new HIV figures

Reactions to news this week that Swaziland's HIV-prevalence rate - 
already the world's highest - continued to climb, have swung between 
deep pessimism and renewed determination by AIDS activists and 
government officials.

Data taken from pregnant women visiting prenatal clinics last year as 
part of a Ministry of Health surveillance study showed that the 
prevalence rate had climbed by 6 percent since 2002, to 42.6 percent.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46555


Call for regional women's organisation to combat HIV/AIDS

Former South African first lady Graca Machel has called on women in 
southern Africa to tackle traditional practices that may contribute to 
the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Addressing delegates from the region at a gender equality conference in 
Ezulwini, just outside Swaziland's capital, Mbabane, Machel highlighted 
the impact of the virus on women. "We are the ones who are most affected 
by AIDS: of the people infected with HIV, 58 percent are women; of the 
people dying of AIDS, 58 percent are women - it is time to say, 
'enough!'"

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46492


HIV prevalence rate among pregnant women rises

Swaziland's government said it would act urgently to reverse the rising 
HIV prevalence rate among pregnant women, currently at 42.6 percent 
according to the latest sentinel survey.

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare highlighted the prevalence 
rate among pregnant women, up from 38.6 percent in 2002, as a key area 
of concern.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46471


ZAMBIA: Belt-tightening finally pays off as debt repayments slashed

Campaigners have cautiously welcomed the World Bank's (WB) approval of a 
US $3.8 billion debt relief package for Zambia under the programme to 
help heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC).

The World Bank country manager for Zambia, Ohene Nyanin, reportedly made 
the announcement at a meeting with donors and treasury officials in the 
capital, Lusaka, on Thursday. Although the International Monetary Fund 
(IMF) still has to endorse the plan, and will meet on the matter on 
Friday, it is doubtful that it will disagree with its sister 
institution.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46552


Lack of resources hampers efforts to help disabled

A lack of resources is hampering the Zambian government's efforts to 
implement the Disability Act, which would improve the lives of the 
physically challenged, a senior official told IRIN.

"Political will is there, but everything goes around resources ... 
User-friendly buildings will cost more and even buses will have to be 
custom-made," said Marina Nsingo, the acting Community Development and 
Social Services Minister.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46509


Crop assessment needed after drought hits maize output

The development agency, CARE, has called for an urgent assessment of 
food security in Zambia amid warnings of a serious drought-related fall 
in maize production.

CARE director Brenda Cupper told IRIN she had witnessed the impact of a 
dry spell during a key stage of the maize-growing season on a recent 
tour of Kalomo, Kazungula and Livingstone districts in the south of the 
country.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46496


MADAGASCAR: EU releases $12 million to boost food security after floods

Bad roads are hampering efforts to deliver much-needed food aid to 
thousands of villagers affected by recent flooding in Madagascar's 
southern province of Fianarantsoa, IRIN reported on Thursday.

A disaster official confirmed that the death toll since the onset of 
seasonal rains in March now stood at 57, while close to 25,000 people 
had been left homeless, and more than 54,000 ha of rice fields had been 
damaged.

In a bid to alleviate perennial shortages, the European Union this week 
released the second tranche of US $12 million in its 2003-04 Food 
Security Programme. Around US $1.6 million will be channelled into rural 
development, while the remaining funds are to be spent on improving food 
security.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46524


LESOTHO: Demand for AIDS treatment could jeopardise quality of care

A storm is quietly brewing in Lesotho after international media reports 
raised concerns that private doctors were dispensing anti-AIDS drugs 
without specialised training - putting the lives of many HIV-positive 
people at risk.

Recent news reports have claimed that some doctors were prescribing only 
part of the regimen, or failing to monitor patients adequately for 
adherence, resistance and side effects, and sometimes not providing 
enough counselling. While government officials in the tiny kingdom have 
dismissed the reports as anecdotal, the articles have served as a 
wake-up call for developing countries to turn their attention to the 
quality of AIDS care being delivered in the private sector.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46511


MOZAMBIQUE: New cholera vaccine shows promise

The success of the first mass immunisation campaign against cholera in 
Mozambique's port city of Beira has prompted calls for greater access to 
the oral vaccine.

>From December 2003 to January 2004 about 50,000 residents in the poor
district of Esturro received two successive weekly doses of the oral 
cholera vaccine, rBS-WC. Researchers then assessed the effectiveness of 
the vaccine during an outbreak in Beira between January and May 2004 and 
found that it was highly effective, protecting between 78 and 84 percent 
of the recipients from cholera for six months, with 50 percent being 
protected for three years.

None of the 20 people who died during the outbreak had received the 
vaccine. Cholera is endemic in Mozambique and during the rainy season 
the cities of Maputo and Beira are usually worst affected.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46470


New plan to revamp education

An ambitious plan to hire an average of 9,000 new teachers a year in 
Mozambique is expected to ease the workload of existing educators and 
improve the quality of education, a senior official told IRIN.

"The teachers at the moment are overburdened," Telesfero de Jesus of the 
ministry of education said. Severe staff shortages meant many teachers 
had to teach two shifts. "The first shift already has a huge number of 
pupils - up to 80 pupils in one class. In the afternoon they often have 
to teach another group of 80 pupils. A teacher cannot give quality 
education to pupils when he or she is so overstretched," de Jesus 
explained.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46446


Media barred from attending court case

Mozambican journalists have condemned a court decision to bar them from 
covering a high-profile libel case against one of the six men convicted 
of the murder of top investigative reporter Carlos Cardoso.

Journalists were prevented from entering the court on Tuesday when the 
case brought by Attorney General Joaquim Madeira against businessman 
Momade Assife Abdul Satar and Teodoro de Abreu, editor of the weekly 
paper, Demos, resumed. On 29 March, the first day of the trial, both 
journalists and the public were kept out of the courtroom by order of 
the presiding judge, Luis Mahumane.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) said the ruling was 
unlawful, noting a constitutional amendment in November 2004, which 
clearly states that criminal trials are public. In Mozambique libel is a 
criminal offence, rather than a civil one.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46485


BOTSWANA: Corporal punishment extended to women

IRIN reported on Thursday that people up to the age of 50, including 
women, can now be sentenced to flogging in Botswana, according to new 
legislation.

The Customary Courts Amendment Bill, approved by parliament last week, 
allows chiefs administering traditional courts to sentence men and women 
up to the age of 50 years to corporal punishment. Under Botswana's 
customary laws, petty crimes are punishable by flogging the offender on 
the bare back - a practice that has drawn sharp criticism from rights 
campaigners.

Botswana has argued that corporal punishment reduces overcrowding in its 
prisons.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46522


IRIN-SA
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Fax: +27 11 784-6759
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za

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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
2005


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