U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
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Integrated Regional Information Network for Southern Africa

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SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-Up 227
16 - 22 April 2005


CONTENTS:

COMOROS: Emergency teams on standy as volcano rumbles
ANGOLA: Cultural practices raise risk of Marburg spreading
MADAGASCAR: Calm after student riots rock university campus
NAMIBIA: New challenge to election results
ZIMBABWE: NGO urges unity to counter socioeconomic emergency
SOUTHERN AFRICA: HIV/AIDS, poverty keeping children from schools, says
   UNICEF
INDIAN OCEAN: Plans for tsunami warning system advancing well, ISDR
SOUTH AFRICA: Land claim could change the destiny of a people
SWAZILAND: Child rights advocates highlight plight of under-fives
MOZAMBIQUE: Small grants programme to promote sustainable development
MALAWI: Loan scheme to assist rural poor


COMOROS: Emergency teams on standy as volcano rumbles

Emergency teams were on standby in the Comoros after the Karthala 
volcano on the island of Grand Comore began spewing ash and smoke at the 
weekend.

An estimated 10,000 villagers, fearing the release of toxic gas, fled 
their homes on Sunday on the eastern part of the island - the largest in 
the Indian Ocean archipelego.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46692


Affected villages get water

About 36 villages affected by ash from the Karthala volcano on the main 
island of Grand Comore began receiving water on Thursday, a senior UN 
official told IRIN.

"About 90 percent of the cisterns in the villages contain water that is 
undrinkable now," said Aloys Kamuragiye, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) 
representative in Comoros.

At least 38,000 people have been affected by the contamination of the 
water tanks.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46752


Govt outlines austerity measures to IMF

Comoran authorities are hoping that a series of belt-tightening measures 
will strengthen the economy and boost investor confidence.

In a letter of intent to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dated 2 
February, the government said it was determined to reform fiscal policy, 
mainly by reining in state expenditure and overhauling the tax system.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46691


ANGOLA: Cultural practices raise risk of Marburg spreading

Traditional funeral rites in Angola are putting the families of Marburg 
victims at risk of contracting the killer virus.

For most Angolan families, preparing the body, and kissing and embracing 
the deceased loved one are integral to bidding a final farewell. But the 
secretions from a body increase after death, making such practices 
highly dangerous in the case of a Marburg-related death.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46689


Report highlights gaps in response to IDP needs

A new report on the management of providing assistance and protection to 
internally displaced persons (IDPs) has highlighted several gaps in 
current aid programming.

A comprehensive report by the Swedish International Development 
Cooperation Agency (Sida) found that "more than 24 million internally 
displaced persons (IDPs) lack satisfactory judicial protection" in 
countries across the globe, as in Angola for instance, where civil war 
displaced thousands of people.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46755


MADAGASCAR: Calm after student riots rock university campus

Malagasy officials called for calm on Thursday after a student protest 
in the capital, Antananarivo, turned violent.

Close to 500 students from the University of Antananarivo took to the 
streets on Wednesday to demonstrate against a new government decree 
cutting university places, defence ministry spokesman Paul Andre 
confirmed.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46756


Major US funding to boost agriculture

Madagascar could be on its way to a brighter economic future, after 
becoming the first recipient of a US aid initiative that rewards 
developing countries for their commitment to political and economic 
reforms.

The US $110 million, four-year aid package was officially signed on 18 
April in Washington by Madagascar's President Marc Ravalomanana and 
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) chief executive officer Paul 
Applegarth.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46708


NAMIBIA: New challenge to election results

Four opposition parties have jointly applied to Namibia's High Court to 
have the November 2004 elections declared null and void, with the 
request that the poll be rerun.

"The Republican Party (RP) already filed the court application a few 
minutes before 17h00 on 15 April, the 30-day deadline to challenge the 
recount results," said Henk Mudge, president of the RP, "but due to 
technical reasons we could only make this public now."

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46778


More refugees want to return to Caprivi, UNHCR

The voluntary repatriation of refugees from Botswana to Namibia's 
Caprivi region has encouraged others to follow suit, the UN refugee 
agency (UNHCR) told IRIN.

UNHCR spokeswoman Melita Sunjic said the repatriation of eight adults 
and four children last Friday was the first since 2002.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46734


Govt prepares to tackle illegal arms trafficking

Namibia has launched a National Action Plan (NAP) as part of a regional 
initiative to tackle trafficking in illegal small arms and light 
weapons.

The NAP would "effectively and comprehensively deal with and address the 
proliferation of weapons within our borders and the Southern African 
Development Community (SADC)," said President Hifikepunye Pohamba at the 
launch of the plan on Friday.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46706


ZIMBABWE: NGO urges unity to counter socioeconomic emergency

As Zimbabwe marked 25 years of independence on Monday, Actionaid 
International urged the government, opposition and civil society to 
unite in confronting an economic crisis that has hit the poorest 
hardest.

With the 31 March election over, the advocacy group called for national 
attention to be focused on the rights of the vulnerable, especially 
women, bruised by the ever-rising cost of living, food shortages and an 
HIV/AIDS epidemic that has infected one in four Zimbabweans.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46694


"Solution to crisis lies within" says analyst

While South Africa is well-placed to resolve Zimbabwe's political 
troubles, the solution to the country woes lies in the hands of its 
leaders, according to analysts.

Chris Maroleng, a researcher at the Pretoria-based Institute for 
Security Studies, described as "unfortunate" the decision this week by 
Zimbabwean opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) not to 
participate in any South Africa-led initiative to end the political 
imbroglio.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46753


SOUTHERN AFRICA: HIV/AIDS, poverty keeping children from schools, says 
UNICEF

HIV/AIDS and poverty are the stumbling blocks to achieving the target of 
gender parity in most Southern African classrooms by 2015, according to 
the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The latest UNICEF report, released on Monday, indicated that school 
enrolment statistics in five Southern African countries - three of them 
with extremely high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates - were not on course for 
achieving gender parity.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46690


INDIAN OCEAN: Plans for tsunami warning system advancing well, ISDR

Plans for a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean are at an 
advanced stage, UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) 
Director Salvano Briceno told IRIN on Monday.

Following a meeting of experts in Mauritius, Briceno said efforts to 
establish a tsunami early warning system were "going well", and although 
the pace of developments around the issue was "not yet ideal, there was 
a recognition by donors [attending the conference] that this was an 
important effort that they needed to support".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46688


SOUTH AFRICA: Land claim could change the destiny of a people

Gert Domroch has lived in the Nama village of Kuboes in a remote corner 
of South Africa's Northern Cape Province for all of his 75 years. From 
his backyard, the old man gestures with his pipe to the surrounding 
expanse of windswept desert against a backdrop of jagged volcanic 
mountains: "This is the land of our forefathers and we've been 
dispossessed."

The land he is referring to is known as the Richtersveld and extends 
about 100 km to the south to include the villages of Eksteenfontein and 
Lekkersing, as well as encompassing Richtersveld National Park to the 
north and the coastal towns of Port Nolloth and Alexander Bay.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46713


SWAZILAND: Child rights advocates highlight plight of under-fives

Child rights advocates have banded together in a bid to cope with 
ongoing concerns about the welfare of Southern Africa's children.

At a recent meeting organised by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 
Swaziland, delegates from Lesotho, Malawi and South Africa highlighted 
the need to bolster care programmes targeting children under five years.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46731


MOZAMBIQUE: Small grants programme to promote sustainable development

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has launched a small grants 
programme in Mozambique, aimed at encouraging NGOs and community-based 
groups to engage in environmentally friendly activities that promote 
sustainable livelihoods.

Programme director Augusto Correia said the Mozambique project totalled 
US $50,000.

"We can reduce our vulnerability to natural disasters by promoting 
environmentally friendly activities. For example, we need to promote 
activities that use biogas and hydropower, and reduce the use of 
charcoal and firewood," Correia said.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46776


WFP extends food aid as vulnerability rises

The World Food Programme (WFP) in Mozambique is extending its aid 
programme until June, as preliminary reports point to rising food needs 
in the south and central regions.

WFP information officer Kerstin Reisdorf said on Friday that the UN food 
agency was assisting around 150,000 people in the most affected 
districts in the south and centre of the country as an initial response 
to the food shortages expected from April to June.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46775


MALAWI: Loan scheme to assist rural poor

Malawi's rural poor have cautiously welcomed a government-sponsored loan 
scheme, saying similar aid packages in the past have tended to favour 
supporters of the ruling party.

The scheme, introduced three months ago, is worth around Kwacha 5 
billion (US $44 million) and is expected to provide small loans to 
impoverished rural households, in a bid to assist thousands of families 
struggling to make ends meet.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46774


IRIN-SA
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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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