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SOUTH AFRICA: Money delayed is ARVs denied
JOHANNESBURG, 19 November 2008 (IRIN) - South Africa's newly sworn-in Health Minister, Barbara Hogan, came head-to-head with her first real crisis when antiretroviral (ARV) treatment was withheld from hundreds of people in Free State Province. Some may give her an "A" for effort, but others say the health department's response is way off mark.
Source : IRIN | 20-Nov-2008 01:33

SOUTH AFRICA-ZIMBABWE: Cholera crosses the border too
JOHANNESBURG, 19 November 2008 (IRIN) - Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic has crossed into South Africa, with four confirmed diagnoses in a total of 68 suspected cases in the border town of Musina, according to aid workers.
Source : IRIN | 20-Nov-2008 01:33

SOUTH AFRICA: What if sex work were legal?
CAPE TOWN, 19 November 2008 (IRIN) - Governments across the world grapple with the question of how best to deal with sex work: should it be decriminalised, or should existing legislation be enforced to better control the industry?
Source : IRIN | 19-Nov-2008 19:34

SENEGAL: Weighing the benefits of solar stoves
THIES, 19 November 2008 (IRIN) - Researchers have sold over 1,000 solar stoves to rural families in Senegal in a bid to prove that the ovens can improve child and maternal health and reduce household fuel consumption.
Source : IRIN | 19-Nov-2008 19:34

GUINEA-BISSAU: Cholera contained but source still unknown
BISSAU, 19 November 2008 (IRIN) - After more than six months of battling cholera in Guinea-Bissau the epidemic is now under control health officials say, though they admit they have not identified its root causes or put in place measures to prevent future outbreaks.
Source : IRIN | 19-Nov-2008 19:34

BURKINA FASO: Finding new ways to feed HIV-positive people
OUAGADOUGOU, 19 November 2008 (IRIN) - High food prices and cuts in food aid to HIV-positive people are forcing relief organisations in Burkina Faso to take another look at local foods to keep people healthy.
Source : IRIN | 19-Nov-2008 19:34

UGANDA: Malaria on the rise in Lango
OYAM, 19 November 2008 (IRIN) - There has been an upsurge in the number of malaria cases reported in the sub-region of Lango in northern Uganda due to poor mosquito control, according to health officials.
Source : IRIN | 19-Nov-2008 19:34

CONGO: Flooding raises health risks
BRAZZAVILLE, 19 November 2008 (IRIN) - The torrential rains experienced in Brazzaville every year at this time spread sewage in the streets and sometimes bury houses in sand carried along by the ensuing floods.
Source : IRIN | 19-Nov-2008 19:34

ERITREA: Use harvest wisely, government urges
NAIROBI, 19 November 2008 (IRIN) - Eritreans should use the current harvest efficiently and share crop resources equitably because most parts of the country had received inadequate rains this year, the information ministry said.
Source : IRIN | 19-Nov-2008 19:34

DRC: Rape crisis set to worsen amid Kivu chaos
NAIROBI, 19 November 2008 (IRIN) - Soaring insecurity in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has raised fears of a new wave of sexual violence in a region termed “the worst place in the world to be a woman” by aid workers.
Source : IRIN | 19-Nov-2008 19:34

SOMALIA: Crops destroyed, families displaced as Shabelle bursts banks
NAIROBI, 19 November 2008 (IRIN) - At least 8,000 hectares of farmland in southern Somalia's Lower Shabelle region have been destroyed after the Shabelle river burst its banks, displacing thousands of people, officials said.
Source : IRIN | 19-Nov-2008 19:34

LIBERIA: No relief as most Monrovians go without toilets
MONROVIA, 19 November 2008 (IRIN) - With just one in 25 Liberians having access to a toilet, most use the nearest bush or beach, unwittingly committing what the UN Children's Fund calls “the riskiest sanitation practice”.
Source : IRIN | 19-Nov-2008 13:23

PHILIPPINES: A matter of faith or HIV prevention
MANILA, 19 November 2008 (IRIN) - While lawmakers in the Philippines debate whether to approve a controversial bill on reproductive health, health officials have warned that new HIV infections have shot up dramatically in the past year.
Source : IRIN | 19-Nov-2008 13:23

UGANDA: Officials hope emergency will be avoided as rains subside
KAMPALA, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - Heavy rains have displaced thousands and damaged crops in eastern and northern Uganda, but officials are optimistic an emergency will be avoided as better weather is predicted.
Source : IRIN | 18-Nov-2008 19:37

ETHIOPIA: Thousands displaced by floods in Somali region
ADDIS ABABA, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - At least 52,000 people have abandoned their homes in Ethiopia's Somali region after the Wade Shabelle and Genale rivers burst their banks following heavy rains.
Source : IRIN | 18-Nov-2008 19:37

COLOMBIA: Sex tourism booming on the Caribbean coast
CARTAGENA, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - On the surface, the historic northern city of Cartagena on Colombia's Caribbean coast is an up-market tourist destination, with cruise boat passengers strolling through the old, walled city's maze of narrow streets as sight-seers duck into air-conditioned boutiques and cafés to escape the tropical heat.
Source : IRIN | 18-Nov-2008 19:37

DRC-UGANDA: Overwhelmed relief workers struggle to provide HIV services
ISHASHA, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - Violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has forced thousands of people to flee across the border into neighbouring countries, but relief workers in Uganda admit that HIV is low on the list of priorities.
Source : IRIN | 18-Nov-2008 19:37

SOMALIA: Dozens die in diarrhoea outbreak
NAIROBI, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - At least 100 people have died in the past four weeks after an outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) in and around the town of Abudwaaq, in Galgadud region of central Somalia, medical sources said on 18 November.
Source : IRIN | 18-Nov-2008 19:37

SOUTH AFRICA: Diane, "Most people hate sex workers"
CAPE TOWN, 18 November 2008 (IRIN) - Diane* is a sex worker in South Africa's tourist capital, Cape Town. She spoke to IRIN/PlusNews about her 12 years in the business.
Source : IRIN | 18-Nov-2008 13:37

CHAD: UN Secretary-General calls to double troop numbers
GOZ BEIDA, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for a doubling of international troops deployed to eastern Chad. UN peacekeepers, expected to replace the European Union force (EUFOR) due to leave in March 2009, would have a similar mandate of protecting displaced civilians and aid workers in the increasingly volatile region.
Source : IRIN | 18-Nov-2008 01:36

MADAGASCAR: Bracing for storm season
JOHANNESBURG, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - All eyes are glued to the radar screen in anticipation of the cyclone season in Madagascar, and this year the authorities and their humanitarian partners hope not be caught off guard.
Source : IRIN | 18-Nov-2008 01:36

MALAWI: Planning for a disaster
LILONGWE, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - The state of preparedness for a natural disaster in Malawi's flood-prone areas as well as other locales is coming under intense scrutiny ahead of the expected annual rise in the rivers during the rainy season.
Source : IRIN | 17-Nov-2008 19:35

NIGERIA: Under-development continues to fuel oil theft
ABUJA, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - Crude oil smuggling continues unabated in the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria, spurred by chronic under-development, a disaffected youth, and increasing lawlessness.
Source : IRIN | 17-Nov-2008 19:35

ZIMBABWE: Surviving as an HIV-positive teacher
HARARE, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - Memory Motsi* rents a room in Chitungwiza, about 20km from the Zimbabwean capital, Harare. She wakes up at five in the morning to get to work on time at the school where she teaches Grade 5 in Hatfield, a suburb in the city, because the poor salaries in education sector, totally outpaced by hyperinflation, mean she can no longer afford the bus fare to and from work.
Source : IRIN | 17-Nov-2008 19:35

KENYA: UN warns of humanitarian crisis in Dadaab camps
NAIROBI, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - An influx of asylum-seekers fleeing violence in Somalia to the refugee camps in Dadaab in north-eastern Kenya is causing overcrowding that could lead to a humanitarian crisis, UN officials have warned.
Source : IRIN | 17-Nov-2008 19:35

SOMALIA: Cutting charcoal use in urban Somaliland
HARGEISA, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - Authorities in Somalia's self-declared republic of Somaliland have embarked on efforts to reduce charcoal use in urban areas to curb deforestation, officials said.
Source : IRIN | 17-Nov-2008 19:35

SOMALIA: “TFG on brink of collapse”
NAIROBI, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - The widening split between Somalia's leaders could lead to the total collapse of the transitional federal government, a Nairobi-based regional analyst, who requested anonymity, has warned.
Source : IRIN | 17-Nov-2008 19:35

ZIMBABWE: Sibangilizwe Ndlovu, "These days people are dying in large numbers"
BULAWAYO, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - Business is booming for Sibangilizwe Ndlovu, 56, who runs a small funeral parlour in the working-class district of Kelvin North in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city.
Source : IRIN | 17-Nov-2008 19:35

MOZAMBIQUE: Widows risk HIV in purification rites
BEIRA, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - When Mariana Uchandidhora's husband was killed in a traffic accident in South Africa a year ago, tradition required that she have sex with her deceased husband's brother in order to be purified.
Source : IRIN | 17-Nov-2008 19:35

SUDAN: Southern women march for end to GBV
BOR, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - Women marched through the Southern Sudanese town of Bor recently to highlight an important message: “Treat women with respect”."Bring an end to violence against women, and let women contribute to develop the nation," said some 100 women parading through the capital of the vast and swampy eastern Jonglei state.
Source : IRIN | 17-Nov-2008 19:35

UGANDA: Alice: “I saw my friend being beheaded and his body cut up”
GULU, 17 November 2008 (IRIN) - Children abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) during its decades-long insurgency in the north have to live with the trauma and psychological scars long after their rescue and return to civilian life. One such is Alice*, abducted in 2005 when she was only 12. She told IRIN about her escape from rebel captivity in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo:
Source : IRIN | 17-Nov-2008 13:34

GUINEA-BISSAU: Cautious optimism ahead of parliamentary poll
BISSAU, 15 November 2008 (IRIN) - UN and other international observers say they are cautiously optimistic ahead of Guinea-Bissau's parliamentary elections set for 16 November, while some citizens fear violence in the country long plagued by unrest.
Source : IRIN | 15-Nov-2008 13:32

ZIMBABWE: The divorce becomes final
BULAWAYO, 14 November 2008 (IRIN) - Zimbabwe's political crisis deepened on 14 November with the withdrawal of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by Morgan Tsvangirai, from the moribund power-sharing deal with President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF.
Source : IRIN | 15-Nov-2008 01:35

SWAZILAND: Promise to heal the health service
MBABANE, 14 November 2008 (IRIN) - Moved by the deplorable conditions he found on a tour of Swaziland's hospitals and clinics, Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini has vowed to reform the healthcare system.
Source : IRIN | 15-Nov-2008 01:35

ZAMBIA: Looming food crisis in refugee camps
LUSAKA, 14 November 2008 (IRIN) - The Zambian government has warned that a looming food crisis in the country's refugee camps could cause unrest among the thousands of asylum-seekers from across the region.
Source : IRIN | 14-Nov-2008 19:38

ZIMBABWE: "Food relief operators are overwhelmed"
BULAWAYO, 14 November 2008 (IRIN) - Impatience among the hungry and food relief operations put on the back foot by a nearly three-month ban are complicating an already desperate situation as Zimbabwe barrels towards its peak food crisis, less than two months away.
Source : IRIN | 14-Nov-2008 19:38

UGANDA: New hope for HIV-discordant couples
KAMPALA, 14 November 2008 (IRIN) - A new clinical trial to test the effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis in stable sexual relationships has started in Uganda, with 3,900 discordant couples enrolled in a five-year study.
Source : IRIN | 14-Nov-2008 19:38

SOUTH AFRICA: Desmond Doshane, "I want a president who can unite everyone"
JOHANNESBURG, 14 November 2008 (IRIN) - Desmond Doshane, 19, is one of 1.6 million newly registered South African voters. He will be casting a ballot for the first time in elections due in the first half of 2009, and told IRIN what this means to him.
Source : IRIN | 14-Nov-2008 19:38

KENYA: Heavy rains to affect hundreds of thousands
NAIROBI, 14 November 2008 (IRIN) - At least 300,000 people will require humanitarian aid in the next three months due to flash flooding and landslides, as well as continuing conflict, the Kenya Red Cross Society warned.
Source : IRIN | 14-Nov-2008 19:38

DRC: 150,000 children miss school as violence continues in the east
NAIROBI, 14 November 2008 (IRIN) - Fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has forced most schools in Rutshuru territory to close, leaving an estimated 150,000 children out of class, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.
Source : IRIN | 14-Nov-2008 19:38

UGANDA: Charles Opira: "After eight years as a child soldier, all I want is to forget the past"
GULU, 14 November 2008 (IRIN) - Charles Opira was 10 years old when the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) abducted him as he walked to school in Gulu, northern Uganda, in 2000. He recalls fleeing rebel captivity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in June:
Source : IRIN | 14-Nov-2008 19:38

GHANA: Meningitis outbreak kills 10
ACCRA, 14 November 2008 (IRIN) - Ten people have been confirmed dead and two are hospitalised following an outbreak of meningitis in north-central Ghana. Local authorities have closed down schools and banned all public gatherings.
Source : IRIN | 14-Nov-2008 19:38

INDIAN OCEAN: Climbing HIV figures show a changing picture
PORT LOUIS, 14 November 2008 (IRIN) - Over 500 people from Mauritius, Madagascar, Reunion Island, the Comoros and Seychelles attended the seventh conference on AIDS in Indian Ocean, and shared their growing concern over the impact of AIDS in their respective countries.
Source : IRIN | 14-Nov-2008 13:16

CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA: IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 456 for 8 - 14 November 2008
NAIROBI, 14 November 2008 (IRIN) - IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 456 for 8 - 14 November 2008
Source : IRIN | 14-Nov-2008 13:16

ZIMBABWE: Violence returns as talks flounder
HARARE, 13 November 2008 (IRIN) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's government is launching another wave of attacks against the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), a spokesman for the opposition party told IRIN, after a much vaunted power-sharing deal appeared to be on the verge of collapse.
Source : IRIN | 13-Nov-2008 19:23

CONGO: Disease devastates cassava crop, threatens widespread hunger
BRAZZAVILLE, 13 November 2008 (IRIN) - Cassava is the staple food for most people in the Republic of Congo, but this main source of nourishment is being threatened by a disease that has spread to most areas of the country.
Source : IRIN | 13-Nov-2008 19:23