Reuters AlertNet Lite - SOUTHERN AFRICA: IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 348 for 27 October

Reuters AlertNet Full site

NEWSDESK

SOUTHERN AFRICA: IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 348 for 27 October - 2 November 2007

02 Nov 2007 16:17:25 GMT
Source: IRIN

Background

• Climate change

MORE >>

JOHANNESBURG, 2 November 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS

SOUTHERN AFRICA: HIV-induced famine's impact on agriculture ZIMBABWE: 'Economic weather' closes down rural areas COMOROS: AU patience runs out SOUTH AFRICA: Government housing project excludes poorest of the poor

ZIMBABWE: HIV rate falls again SOUTH AFRICA: Land redistribution moves to the front burner

SOUTHERN AFRICA: HIV-induced famine's impact on agriculture

Hunger and HIV/AIDS are reinforcing each other in Southern Africa, "leading to a potentially tragic new level of famine", says a book published by a regional agricultural think-tank. The World Bank's annual report, released last week, also raises concerns over the pandemic's impact, pointing out that most people affected by HIV and AIDS depend on agriculture.

Food consumption has been found to drop by 40 percent in homes afflicted by HIV/AIDS, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation; globally, Southern Africa is the region most affected by the pandemic.

See full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75067

ZIMBABWE: 'Economic weather' closes down rural areas

"Closed on account of economic weather", says the notice stuck on the door of a hardware shop in a business centre in rural Shurugwi, about 200km northeast of Gweru, capital of Zimbabwe's Midlands Province.

The gallows humour of the notice draws laughter from villagers, who used to depend on the shopping centre, popularly known as a growth point because it served a number of villages in the surrounding area, but is now an indicator of rural economic decline.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75058

COMOROS: AU patience runs out

Seeking to end a burgeoning political crisis, African Union (AU) representatives and the Comoros Union government are applying sanctions targeted at the renegade leadership of Anjouan, one of the three islands comprising the Union of Comoros.

The AU has been attempting to negotiate a peaceful resolution to inter-island hostility between Anjouan and the two other islands in the archipelago, Grande Comore and Moheli, since authorities on Anjouan refused to stand down following elections in June.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75081

SOUTH AFRICA: Government housing project excludes poorest of the poor

Thousands of the poorest residents in Cape Town, South Africa, are facing eviction from an informal settlement to make way for a government housing project.

About 20,000 residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement near Langa, a township about 15km from Cape Town along the N2, the main access road to and from the airport, are opposing their forced removal to Delft, about 20km northeast of the city, because they say it would reduce their standard of living further and make it difficult and more expensive to travel to the city for work.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75102

ZIMBABWE: HIV rate falls again

When Zimbabwe registered a decline in HIV prevalence rates in 2004, and again in 2006, the news was met with scepticism, but new official figures released on Wednesday indicate the downward trend has continued, with rates falling by 10 percent over the past 5 years.

The Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, assisted by a group of international experts, based the new seroprevalence rate on HIV infection in pregnant women attending antenatal clinics, and estimate the level among the adult population at 15.6 percent, according to a UN statement.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75120

SOUTH AFRICA: Land redistribution moves to the front burner

The South African government has revealed that less than 5 percent of white-owned commercial agricultural land has been redistributed since the demise of apartheid in 1994, making the target of having 30 percent redistributed by 2014 seem almost unachievable.

Dealing with the skewed apartheid land legacy has been a constant refrain of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) since it came to power nearly 14 years ago, but progress has been stymied by a range of factors, including capacity constraints in the Land Affairs Department, steep rises in property prices, and political will.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75127

Email this article Send comments

Topics

• Climate change

MORE >>

Countries

Small country map
© 2004 Europa Technologies Ltd.

Reset map

• Comoros profile
· View map

• Zimbabwe profile
· View map

MORE >>

NGO latest

• Biofuels and rise in the price of foodstuffs: Serious concerns over the availability of food stocks to respond to emergencies
AAH - UK

• CWS appeal: Zimbabwe food aid
CWS

• ACT launches Zimbabwe food aid and recovery appeal
ACT - Switzerland

• Tougher CO2 targets needed to combat climage change
Christian Aid - UK

• Polar bears and friends visit Downing Street to Stop Climate Chaos
Christian Aid - UK

MORE >>

Latest news

• SOUTH AFRICA: Land redistribution moves to the front burner

• SOUTHERN AFRICA: IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 348 for 27 October - 2 November 2007

• ZIMBABWE: HIV rate falls again

• DIARY - Global Environment

• U.S. climate bill seen as sign of political shift

MORE >>

Last updated:Fri Nov 2 16:20:53 2007