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

Tel: +27 11 880 4633
Fax: +27 11 880 1421
e-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za


SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-Up 281
29 April - 5 April 2006


CONTENTS:

MALAWI: Concern over threat of renewed political instability
ZIMBABWE: Little to cheer on press freedom day
SOUTH AFRICA: Positive immigrants
ANGOLA: Neglected provinces need share of new wealth
SWAZILAND: The difference between stopping abuse and interfering
BOTSWANA: Foot-and-mouth threatens beef industry
SOUTHERN AFRICA: More children going hungry



MALAWI: Concern over threat of renewed political instability

Malawi's vice-president was denied bail by a magistrate on Tuesday for 
the charge of plotting to assassinate President Bingu wa Mutharika, in a 
case several political analysts fear could further undermine political 
stability.

Vice-President Cassim Chilumpha returned to Maula prison in the capital, 
Lilongwe, for a fifth consecutive night after the magistrate rejected 
the argument that he was immune from prosecution, and referred the case 
to the high court.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53116


Pockets of vulnerability amid general plenty

After five years of chronic food insecurity the Malawi ministry of 
agriculture forecast a bumper maize harvest last week, but aid agencies 
warn there are still pockets of vulnerable people.

The projected crop of about 2.35 million mt of maize, just above the 
annual requirement of two million mt, is expected to meet the immediate 
needs of citizens.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53137


ZIMBABWE: Little to cheer on press freedom day

Journalists in Zimbabwe have little to celebrate on World Press Freedom 
Day: their basic rights have been systematically "criminalised", 
according to regional watchdog, the Media Institute of Southern Africa 
(MISA).

"Sadly for Zimbabwe, the past seven years have seen freedom of 
expression being downgraded from a right to a privilege that can only be 
exercised at the benevolence of the authorities," MISA said in a 
statement on Wednesday.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53139


SOUTH AFRICA: Positive immigrants

Living with HIV in South Africa presents plenty of challenges: those 
most affected are often the poorest and lack access to jobs, housing and 
proper sanitation; the disease still carries a strong stigma and many 
prefer to carry the burden of their status alone rather than risk 
sharing it with friends and family.

But since the government began rolling out free antiretroviral (ARV) 
treatment two years ago, and many people living with HIV are also 
accessing social grants, the possibility of living a more normal life is 
better than it was. Unless, that is, you are an undocumented immigrant.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53115


Small clinic at centre of debate over traditional medicine

Over the past few months, hundreds of people have been streaming into an 
office building in Pinetown, on the outskirts of South Africa's east 
coast city of Durban, looking for the clinic that sells ubhejane - a 
herbal mixture they believe can treat HIV/AIDS.

The controversial traditional medicine has received vast media coverage, 
mainly due to the backing it has received from influential political 
figures such as the country's health minister, Dr Manto 
Tshabalala-Msimang, and provincial health officials in KwaZulu-Natal.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53090


Education in the doldrums

Nearly 900 students attend the high school in Orlando, a suburb of 
Johannesburg's sprawling Soweto township, but there is only one 
qualified teacher to teach the three basic science subjects, the library 
has no up-to-date books and the 'computer lab' has no computers.

Orlando High, the school many of the 1976 Soweto uprising's student 
leaders attended, is struggling to educate its pupils. Thirty years ago 
they rejected the government's decision to make Afrikaans the language 
of tuition because it was associated with apartheid and the students 
feared it would entrench second-class education. Their resistance 
reignited the liberation movement.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53184


ANGOLA: Neglected provinces need share of new wealth

A senior UN official has warned that Angola risks losing its post war 
gains if it does not create more jobs and increase investment in the 
neglected interior of the country.

"The highest priority is to create employment. Without it they [the 
youth] don't get the benefits of peace," said Pierre-Francois Pirlot, UN 
Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53140


SWAZILAND: The difference between stopping abuse and interfering

An initiative by the child welfare NGO, Save The Children, is managing 
to overcome the timidity of urban dwellers in Swaziland about "getting 
involved" in neighbours' domestic disputes.

"Looking the other way, and turning a deaf ear to screams and cries for 
help next door have led to tragedies. We are giving people a way to get 
involved while allowing them to remain anonymous," said Elizabeth 
Kgalolo, programme director at Save the Children.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53178


BOTSWANA: Foot-and-mouth threatens beef industry

The Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) says the country could lose millions 
of dollars in beef earnings following an outbreak of the highly 
contagious foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), which has forced the closure of 
the country's two abattoirs.

BMC chief executive Motshudi Raborokgwe said the shutdown of the 
abattoirs in Francistown and Lobatse would seriously affect exports to 
the European Union and other major markets, and could even threaten the 
survival of the beef industry.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53088


SOUTHERN AFRICA: More children going hungry

According to a report released this week by Unicef, the UN children's 
agency, HIV/AIDS is contributing to continuing high rates of 
malnutrition among children in Southern African countries.

Rather than making progress towards the Millennium Development Goal 
(MDG) of reducing hunger by half, the study, 'Progress for Children: a 
Report Card on Nutrition', found that the number of underweight children 
in the region has actually increased over the past 15 years.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53180


IRIN-SA
Tel: +27 11 895-1900
Fax: +27 11 784-6759
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International                  web: www.cidi.org
     Disaster Information             listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
                                    guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Southern Africa                  www.cidi.org/humanitarian/irin/safrica