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 311
2 - 8 December 2006


CONTENTS:

SOUTH AFRICA: No escape from debt trap
ZIMBABWE: Government reports 150% drop in living standards
MALAWI: Each migrating nurse costs country up to US$26 million
SWAZILAND: Has Swaziland turned the corner in the fight against AIDS?
MADAGASCAR: So far, so good in presidential election
ZIMBABWE: Govt enforces price controls as IMF comes to town
SOUTH AFRICA: Black gays the target of hate crimes
ZIMBABWE: Women refugees in South Africa claim rape and torture at home
ZIMBABWE: No legal way out


SOUTH AFRICA: No escape from debt trap

Many South Africans are borrowing money simply to buy enough food to 
eat, according to the findings of a study commissioned by the country's 
major financial institutions and the national treasury.

The study found that in the richest country on the continent, one in 
five South Africans do not have enough to eat. At least 17 percent of 
South Africans said they had no income at all, and nearly half of the 
more than 3,000 people interviewed said they sometimes or often went 
without a cash income.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56639


ZIMBABWE: Government reports 150% drop in living standards

Zimbabwe's living standards have declined by 150 percent within the last 
decade, says a poverty assessment survey complied and published by the 
public service and social welfare ministry.

The survey revealed that between 1995 and 2003, more than 63 percent of 
rural people could not obtain enough money to meet both basic food and 
non-food requirements, while the figure in urban areas was 53 percent. 
Gender was also recognised as having an impact on poverty levels, and 
figures for malnutrition in children and access to healthcare also 
deteriorated.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56641


MALAWI: Each migrating nurse costs country up to US$26 million

Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries, is losing up to US$26 
million for every nurse who leaves the country in search of greener 
pastures, according to a new research paper.

The paper attempts to quantify the financial loss to the country. 
Besides the obvious impact on its health services, salaries and working 
conditions are among the contributing factors for these nurses' 
migration.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56618


SWAZILAND: Has Swaziland turned the corner in the fight against AIDS?

The Swazi government expressed cautious optimism after a survey found 
that 39.2 percent of women visiting antenatal clinics tested positive 
for HIV, indicating that the infection rate was dropping.

Medical data from pregnant women is used as a barometer of HIV/AIDS 
prevalence among the country's about one million people and although the 
figure was above the 38.6 percent recorded in 2002, it was down from the 
42.6 percent reached in 2004.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56629


MADAGASCAR: So far, so good in presidential election

Fears that the presidential poll might rekindle the political 
animosities of the previous presidential election, which plunged the 
island into a near civil war, have so far proved unfounded.

Incumbent president Marc Ravalomanana thanked the population for their 
"wisdom" and for "democratic, free and fair elections". Initial results 
suggest that Ravalomanana obtained 70 percent of the vote.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56610


ZIMBABWE: Govt enforces price controls as IMF comes to town

As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) kicks off its assessment 
mission in Zimbabwe this week, the country's courts sent two officials 
of a well-known bakery to prison for breaking the price control law. The 
IMF has repeatedly called for price deregulation, among other measures, 
to manage the economic crisis in Zimbabwe.

Bakery executives received prison sentences and fines for breaching the 
Pricing of Goods Act by selling bread above official prices. A price 
freeze on essential goods and crackdowns on the parallel market are the 
government's preferred methods of trying to keep basic items affordable. 
The IMF has warned that inflation in Zimbabwe could exceed 4,000 percent 
in 2007 if current policies were maintained.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56611


SOUTH AFRICA: Black gays the target of hate crimes

Black homosexual men and women are increasingly encountering a variety 
of hate crimes in South Africa, despite legislation protecting the 
rights of sexual minorities.

In 1996 South Africa became the first country on the continent to adopt 
a constitution protecting people from discrimination based on sexual 
orientation, and legally recognised same-sex marriage on 1 December 
2006. Although the constitution works on paper, it does little to 
guarantee acceptance or tolerance, especially for gays and lesbians 
living in townships where there are increasing reports of physical 
violence and expressions of homophobia.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56661


ZIMBABWE: Women refugees in South Africa claim rape and torture at home

The South African government has been condemned for its "complete 
silence" over the high level of rape at the hands of the security forces 
in their country reported by Zimbabwean women applying for asylum.

At least 15 percent of the Zimbabwean women refugees who visited a 
counselling centre run by the Zimbabwe Torture Victims/Survivors Project 
(ZTVP) in Johannesburg over the past 20 months alleged they had been 
raped.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56659


ZIMBABWE: No legal way out

Passports are no longer available in Zimbabwe. The office of the 
Registrar-General has stopped producing them because the cost of 
importing the special paper required has become unaffordable.

The country's economic meltdown in recent years has seen more than 3 
million of its about 12 million people seeking employment opportunities 
abroad and the demand for passports - the latest item to become 
unavailable - already has a four-year backlog. Although millions of 
Zimbabweans are believed to have left the country illegally, mostly to 
neighbouring southern African states, the unavailability of passports 
will mainly affect students who have secured places at foreign 
universities, people seeking formal employment outside Zimbabwe and 
cross-border traders.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56658


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