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 320
5 - 9 February 2007


CONTENTS:

MOZAMBIQUE: Young people's radio show breaks down taboos
SOUTH AFRICA: Farmworkers challenged to curb risky behaviour
ANGOLA: A year of cholera teaches prevention is better than treatment
SWAZILAND: AIDS orphans locked out of schools
SOUTH AFRICA: Most children living on the edge
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Red Cross programme threatened by funding
SWAZILAND: The triumph over fear
ZIMBABWE: White farmers can stay to harvest their crops



MOZAMBIQUE: Young people's radio show breaks down taboos

Subjects like HIV/AIDS and child trafficking, usually considered taboo
in Mozambican society, are being openly discussed by the teenage
presenters of radio and television programmes for young people. Radio
Mozambique presenter Amelia Maisha Tumgine, 13, is one of several
presenters using the airwaves to talk frankly with their peers about
subjects that matter to them but are often considered off-limits by
parents.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57567


SOUTH AFRICA: Farmworkers challenged to curb risky behaviour

January is mango season in Hoedspruit, in South Africa's Limpopo
Province, and casual fruit pickers, mostly women, flood the area's farms
in search of work. Conditions on the farms already make them a potential
breeding ground for HIV infection. Workers usually live in overcrowded
compounds away from their families and isolated from HIV and AIDS
interventions. Myths about HIV abound, condom use is low, and risky
sexual behaviour is high, according to a 2004 survey by the
International Organisation for Migration.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57559


ANGOLA: A year of cholera teaches prevention is better than treatment

Almost a year into a cholera outbreak, aid agencies and Angola's
government have learnt to address the symptoms, but tackling it's causes
remains a challenge. At the start of the year, new cases of the
waterborne disease seemed to be coming under control, but severe
flooding at the end of January caused cholera cases to jump. "Following
the heavy rains there were up to 100 new cases a day a week ago - up
from 5 to 10 a day - and now the numbers are declining again," Mark van
Boekel, head of MSF Holland in Angola told IRIN.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57556


SWAZILAND: AIDS orphans locked out of schools

Thousands of Swazi AIDS orphans risk being locked out of school at the
start of the new term this week, after the government failed to make
good on a promise to provide scholarships for all those unable to afford
school fees.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57555


SOUTH AFRICA: Most children living on the edge

More than half of South Africa's children are in households that
struggle to survive each month, in the continent's wealthiest country,
according to the findings of a new report. They are part of families
earning less than a US$1 a day, derived mainly from social grants
provided by the state, according to the findings of the 'South African
Child Gauge 2006', produced by the Children's Institute (CI) at the
University of Cape Town.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57543


SOUTHERN AFRICA: Red Cross programme threatened by funding

A major campaign by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies to scale up its HIV and AIDS programmes in Southern
Africa is being threatened by a looming funding shortfall. In October
last year the organisation launched an appeal to raise US $300 million
for the expansion of its HIV/AIDS efforts over the next five years.
According to Francoise Le Goff, head of the regional delegation, based
in Harare, Zimbabwe, contributions from donors have so far reached only
about 20 percent of that target and are spread across the region,
meaning that programmes in some countries are more at risk of disruption
than others.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57542


SWAZILAND: The triumph over fear

In a remarkable reversal of perceptions about HIV/AIDS, public testing
by religious and business leaders is changing attitudes towards both the
disease and being tested for it. As recently as two years ago, most
Swazis believed that testing was necessary only for those displaying
symptoms of the disease, such as rapid weight loss. Now, public testing
is leading to a greater understanding of HIV/AIDS, which, according to
UNAIDS, infects 33.4 percent of the adult population - the world's
highest prevalence rate.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57537


ZIMBABWE: White farmers can stay to harvest their crops

More than 100 Zimbabwean white commercial farmers whose eviction notices
expired this month can stay on to harvest their crops, but their farms
will still be up for grabs. The government is forging ahead with plans
to acquire more properties owned by white farmers, according to a senior
official.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57536


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