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 349
8 - 15 September 2007


CONTENTS:

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Limited supplies, biofuel demand push maize prices up
ZIMBABWE: Desperate times bring desperate measures
ZAMBIA: Bibles and condoms
SOUTHERN AFRICA: The effect of migration on HIV rates
SWAZILAND: Tradition as a force against HIV/AIDS
ZAMBIA: Global markets boost incomes of small-scale farmers
SWAZILAND: Water rationing arrives
ZIMBABWE: Mental health disorders on the rise
GLOBAL: Monetised food aid under scrutiny
GLOBAL: Food prices buoyed by biofuel affect aid
MOZAMBIQUE: Religious leaders dampen rising tension


SOUTHERN AFRICA: Limited supplies, biofuel demand push maize prices up

Increased global demand for biofuel has pushed up the already buoyant 
price of maize in South Africa, forcing aid agencies to procure food 
from elsewhere to feed an expected more than six million food-insecure 
people in southern Africa.

After a second consecutive poor maize harvest in South Africa, which 
usually meets food shortfalls in the region, prices have been high, 
according to the latest USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems 
Network (FEWS-NET). Demand-driven world prices, especially in the USA, 
where maize is increasingly used to produce ethanol, have also pushed up 
prices in South Africa, and is expected to keep them high for the rest 
of the year.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74286


ZIMBABWE: Desperate times bring desperate measures

A new breed of entrepreneur has evolved in Zimbabwe's ever-deteriorating 
economy, adapted to take advantage of an environment characterised by 
food shortages and increasingly scarce basic commodities.

The new professionals are known as 'queuers', who buy goods at 
discounted prices as a result of forced government price cuts and resell 
them at a substantial profit on the illegal parallel market.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74281


ZAMBIA: Bibles and condoms

It is mandatory that Zambia's hotels, lodges and guest houses stock at 
least two Bibles in each of their rooms, but it is rare to come across 
condoms or even condom-vending machines, despite many of these 
establishments being used by commercial sex workers and their clients.

About one in five sexually active people, or 1.6 million of Zambia's 
population of 10 million, are infected with HIV/AIDS; health activists 
are advocating that condoms, like Bibles, should be distributed free of 
charge in hotels and other venues offering commercial accommodation.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74280


SOUTHERN AFRICA: The effect of migration on HIV rates

Trying to measure the impact of the Zimbabwean exodus on HIV/AIDS rates 
in the region is so fraught with ifs, buts and maybes that the only 
reasonable assumption is that, like other migrants, economic migrants 
may run a higher risk of infection than they would have if they had not 
left their homes.

The scale of Zimbabwean migration to neighbouring states is disputed, 
with estimates ranging from more than three million people to a few 
hundred thousand, making an overall assessment of the actual spike in 
transference of the disease, if any, in the region difficult to assess, 
but it is accepted that the act of migration tends to increase HIV/AIDS 
infections.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74260


SWAZILAND: Tradition as a force against HIV/AIDS

Circumstance, rather than planning, has placed the battle against 
HIV/AIDS firmly in the hands of Swaziland's 355 chiefdoms.

The decentralisation strategy has evolved from government's failure to 
command the fight against the disease, or even deliver healthcare at its 
urban hospitals, and much less so in rural areas, where four out of five 
Swazis live.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74301


ZAMBIA: Global markets boost incomes of small-scale farmers

Struggling with low prices for their produce in the domestic market, a 
growing number of small-scale farmers in Zambia have managed to turn 
their lives around by supplying international markets.

Luke Mbewe, chief executive officer of the Zambia Export Growers 
Association, an umbrella organisation of small-scale and commercial 
farmers cultivating vegetables and cut flowers, said returns were high 
for farmers who targeted the international market, especially the 
European Union (EU).

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74252


SWAZILAND: Water rationing arrives

Swazis have become acquainted with the term "water rationing" as they 
struggle to cope with one of the longest dry periods in memory.

"Water levels are down nationwide," said Jameson Mkhonta, public 
relations officer for the Swaziland Water Services Corporation, the 
parastatal water utility. "The drought ... [has affected the entire 
country], and not just in the south and east where it is usually dry."

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74231


ZIMBABWE: Mental health disorders on the rise

Zimbabwe's rapid descent into recession, which has seen official 
inflation rates climb to over 7,600 percent - the world's highest - and 
unemployment levels of 80 percent, has also seen a steep rise in mental 
health disorders.

Dr Dickson Chibanda, a psychiatrist formerly employed by Zimbabwe's 
health ministry, told participants at a recent workshop that 40 percent 
of the country's about 12 million people, or more than a third of the 
population, were suffering from poor mental health and he was concerned 
by the government's lack of national mental health assessment 
programmes.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74224


GLOBAL: Monetised food aid under scrutiny

US charity CARE International made headlines last month when it said it 
would turn down US government aid to sell American food in developing 
countries. The funds generated by "monetisation" programmes are usually 
reinvested in other projects.

The US is one of very few countries that sell food aid in recipient 
countries; most donors give food in kind or supply cash to UN agencies 
or NGOs for buying food on national or world markets.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74257


GLOBAL: Food prices buoyed by biofuel affect aid

Maize and wheat prices have shot up to their highest levels since 2000 
in the past few months, according to the UN Food and Agriculture 
Organisation (FAO), which says an increased demand for biofuel 
production may keep prices above historic levels for the next 10 years 
and have an impact on food aid.

"Market prices for these commodities affect food aid," said Merritt 
Cluff, senior economist in FAO's commodities section. "Since budgets for 
food aid are largely fixed, and determined as part of a budgeting 
process, higher prices mean that less can be purchased."

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74287


MOZAMBIQUE: Religious leaders dampen rising tension

Religious leaders in northern Mozambique are making attempts to prevent 
any possible outbreak of communal violence after three mosques were 
burnt in a matter of weeks in Lichinga, capital of Niassa Province.

The police are investigating arson attacks on the mosques, one of which 
was set alight last week. The incidents are highly unusual in 
Mozambique, where religious tolerance is the norm. A suspect has been 
arrested.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74298


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