http://www.irinnews.org/Updated everydayen-gbThu, 16 May 2013 18:30:48 GMTThu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>TOLIARA 16 May 2013 (IRIN) - Justine Sija, 60, begins her day at 4am, when she buys catch from local fishermen to hawk on the streets of St Augustin Village, in Madagascar’s southern Atsimo-Andrefana Region. The work is hard, but in the last year, access to microcredit has boosted both her business and her hope for the future.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98050/Microcredit-helps-small-businesses-buck-the-system-in-MadagascarTOLIARA 16 May 2013 (IRIN) - Justine Sija, 60, begins her day at 4am, when she buys catch from local fishermen to hawk on the streets of St Augustin Village, in Madagascar’s southern Atsimo-Andrefana Region. The work is hard, but in the last year, access to microcredit has boosted both her business and her hope for the future.>]]>Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>CAPE TOWN 16 May 2013 (IRIN) - When Jean Baptiste*, a medical student from Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), arrived in South Africa in September 2012, he headed straight for Cape Town, where he knew he would be able to stay with his brother. No one at the border told him that it was no longer possible to apply for asylum in Cape Town.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98051/Cape-Town-apos-s-asylum-seekers-struggle-to-get-documentedCAPE TOWN 16 May 2013 (IRIN) - When Jean Baptiste*, a medical student from Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), arrived in South Africa in September 2012, he headed straight for Cape Town, where he knew he would be able to stay with his brother. No one at the border told him that it was no longer possible to apply for asylum in Cape Town.>]]>Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>PHILIPPI 14 May 2013 (IRIN) - This week marks five years since tensions between foreigners and South Africans living in impoverished communities across the country erupted in xenophobic violence, leaving more than 60 people dead and tens of thousands displaced, their homes and businesses robbed and abandoned.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98035/Quelling-xenophobia-in-South-Africa-apos-s-townshipsPHILIPPI 14 May 2013 (IRIN) - This week marks five years since tensions between foreigners and South Africans living in impoverished communities across the country erupted in xenophobic violence, leaving more than 60 people dead and tens of thousands displaced, their homes and businesses robbed and abandoned.>]]>Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>MBABANE 13 May 2013 (IRIN) - It was an ambitious plan to circumcise the majority of men in Swaziland, an effort to reduce the risk of HIV transmission in a country with the world's highest HIV prevalence. How could it have gone wrong?http://www.irinnews.org/Report/98023/Circumcision-plans-go-awry-in-SwazilandMBABANE 13 May 2013 (IRIN) - It was an ambitious plan to circumcise the majority of men in Swaziland, an effort to reduce the risk of HIV transmission in a country with the world's highest HIV prevalence. How could it have gone wrong?>]]>Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>HARARE 07 May 2013 (IRIN) - Inadequate funding and limited resources are frustrating Zimbabwe’s efforts to develop plans to deal with the impact of climate change, says a government progress report.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97994/Zimbabwe-short-on-climate-change-fundsHARARE 07 May 2013 (IRIN) - Inadequate funding and limited resources are frustrating Zimbabwe’s efforts to develop plans to deal with the impact of climate change, says a government progress report.>]]>Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>TOLIARA 01 May 2013 (IRIN) - Health experts fear the interruption of food assistance in Madagascar is increasing incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in Toliara, the capital city of Madagascar’s southern Atsimo-Andrefana region.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97950/Food-insecurity-opens-door-to-TB-in-MadagascarTOLIARA 01 May 2013 (IRIN) - Health experts fear the interruption of food assistance in Madagascar is increasing incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in Toliara, the capital city of Madagascar’s southern Atsimo-Andrefana region.>]]>Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 30 April 2013 (IRIN) - South Africa attracts the largest number of asylum seekers in the world, but grants refugee status to very few of them, ranking only thirty-sixth in the world for the size of its refugee population, which the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) puts at about 58,000.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97944/South-Africa-apos-s-flawed-asylum-systemJOHANNESBURG 30 April 2013 (IRIN) - South Africa attracts the largest number of asylum seekers in the world, but grants refugee status to very few of them, ranking only thirty-sixth in the world for the size of its refugee population, which the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) puts at about 58,000.>]]>Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 19 April 2013 (IRIN) - Just days into the rollout of fixed-dose combination (FDC) antiretrovirals (ARVs) by South Africa’s HIV treatment programme - the world's largest - activists are raising fears of drug shortages.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97880/Shortages-of-new-one-a-day-ARV-pills-in-South-AfricaJOHANNESBURG 19 April 2013 (IRIN) - Just days into the rollout of fixed-dose combination (FDC) antiretrovirals (ARVs) by South Africa’s HIV treatment programme - the world's largest - activists are raising fears of drug shortages.>]]>Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>TETE 11 April 2013 (IRIN) - It is 15.45 in the afternoon and two young women are already sitting outside the Night Clinic in Moatize, a small town in Mozambique's northern Tete Province, near one of the largest coal mines in the southern hemisphere, owned by Brazilian mining giant, Vale. The national 123 road cuts through the town, and the clinic lies just off it, intentionally located to bring its services as close as possible to its target patients: miners, truck drivers and sex workers.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97822/Unwelcome-side-effects-of-mining-in-MozambiqueTETE 11 April 2013 (IRIN) - It is 15.45 in the afternoon and two young women are already sitting outside the Night Clinic in Moatize, a small town in Mozambique's northern Tete Province, near one of the largest coal mines in the southern hemisphere, owned by Brazilian mining giant, Vale. The national 123 road cuts through the town, and the clinic lies just off it, intentionally located to bring its services as close as possible to its target patients: miners, truck drivers and sex workers.>]]>Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>HARARE 11 April 2013 (IRIN) - Five years after Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis peaked in 2008, the economy continues to perform poorly, with the manufacturing sector still shedding jobs and unemployment estimated at 75 percent. But the real level of unemployment is almost impossible to gauge as countless Zimbabweans are making a living in the informal sector.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97825/Informal-employment-sustains-ZimbabweansHARARE 11 April 2013 (IRIN) - Five years after Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis peaked in 2008, the economy continues to perform poorly, with the manufacturing sector still shedding jobs and unemployment estimated at 75 percent. But the real level of unemployment is almost impossible to gauge as countless Zimbabweans are making a living in the informal sector.>]]>Mon, 08 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>ST AUGUSTIN 08 April 2013 (IRIN) - Farmers in Madagascar’s southwestern province of Tulear have been hit hard, first by floods and then by locusts, threatening food security in a region already among the poorest in the island country.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97805/Consecutive-catastrophes-hit-Madagascar-apos-s-farmersST AUGUSTIN 08 April 2013 (IRIN) - Farmers in Madagascar’s southwestern province of Tulear have been hit hard, first by floods and then by locusts, threatening food security in a region already among the poorest in the island country.>]]>Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>MBABANE 03 April 2013 (IRIN) - Having a toothache in Swaziland can be a lot more painful than it is in many other places. Most Swazis have never visited a dentist, because in a country where 70 percent of the population lives in absolute poverty, oral hygiene is considered a luxury.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97774/Swaziland-s-dental-dilemmaMBABANE 03 April 2013 (IRIN) - Having a toothache in Swaziland can be a lot more painful than it is in many other places. Most Swazis have never visited a dentist, because in a country where 70 percent of the population lives in absolute poverty, oral hygiene is considered a luxury.>]]>Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>HASEPHAPO-TAUNYANE 27 March 2013 (IRIN) - Tsotleho Befole, 24, travelled from the Lesotho highlands village of Hasephapo-Taunyane to neighbouring South Africa twice in the past year, searching for work in the mines. Both times it proved a wasted journey.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97614/Fishing-for-jobs-in-LesothoHASEPHAPO-TAUNYANE 27 March 2013 (IRIN) - Tsotleho Befole, 24, travelled from the Lesotho highlands village of Hasephapo-Taunyane to neighbouring South Africa twice in the past year, searching for work in the mines. Both times it proved a wasted journey.>]]>Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>CAPE TOWN 26 March 2013 (IRIN) - South Africa will expand its rollout of GeneXpert tuberculosis (TB) testing machines, which can diagnose TB and drug-resistant TB within 90 minutes, but concerns remain about the capacity to back up this commitment with supplies and treatment.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97730/TB-testing-in-South-Africa-rolling-out-slowlyCAPE TOWN 26 March 2013 (IRIN) - South Africa will expand its rollout of GeneXpert tuberculosis (TB) testing machines, which can diagnose TB and drug-resistant TB within 90 minutes, but concerns remain about the capacity to back up this commitment with supplies and treatment.>]]>Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 25 March 2013 (IRIN) - South Africa's gold mines are estimated to have the highest number of new tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world, making the disease a leading export to neighbouring countries. IRIN takes a look at the declaration meant to change this situation.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97719/Southern-Africa-cracks-down-on-TB-in-minesJOHANNESBURG 25 March 2013 (IRIN) - South Africa's gold mines are estimated to have the highest number of new tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world, making the disease a leading export to neighbouring countries. IRIN takes a look at the declaration meant to change this situation.>]]>Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>MBABANE 25 March 2013 (IRIN) - It’s a chilly autumn morning and Ntja Mphale, 62, and his wife, Malehlohonolo, are hoeing a dew-covered field just outside their village of Machache, 43km from Lesotho’s capital, Maseru. They are among thousands of unemployed Basotho who depend on seasonal work weeding smallholder farmers’ fields to earn a little cash.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97720/Mixed-picture-for-Lesotho-apos-s-food-securityMBABANE 25 March 2013 (IRIN) - It’s a chilly autumn morning and Ntja Mphale, 62, and his wife, Malehlohonolo, are hoeing a dew-covered field just outside their village of Machache, 43km from Lesotho’s capital, Maseru. They are among thousands of unemployed Basotho who depend on seasonal work weeding smallholder farmers’ fields to earn a little cash.>]]>Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>TETE 25 March 2013 (IRIN) - When foreign mining companies started arriving in Mozambique’s northwestern Tete Province, people had high expectations that employment and prosperity would follow.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97724/Mozambicans-want-more-payback-from-mining-companiesTETE 25 March 2013 (IRIN) - When foreign mining companies started arriving in Mozambique’s northwestern Tete Province, people had high expectations that employment and prosperity would follow.>]]>Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>SAMBAINA 22 March 2013 (IRIN) - A Millennium Village in Madagascar is learning to stand on its own as five years of support from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) come to an end this month.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97706/Madagascar-apos-s-Millennium-Village-goes-it-aloneSAMBAINA 22 March 2013 (IRIN) - A Millennium Village in Madagascar is learning to stand on its own as five years of support from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) come to an end this month.>]]>Thu, 21 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>TETE 21 March 2013 (IRIN) - The coal boom in Mozambique’s northwestern Tete Province is pitting disgruntled locals against international mining conglomerates as communities living in the new mining areas are forced to relocate.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97694/Resettlement-conflicts-follow-Mozambique-apos-s-mining-boomTETE 21 March 2013 (IRIN) - The coal boom in Mozambique’s northwestern Tete Province is pitting disgruntled locals against international mining conglomerates as communities living in the new mining areas are forced to relocate.>]]>Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>MBABANE 20 March 2013 (IRIN) - Swaziland’s government has sold maize donated by the Japanese government to feed hungry Swazis for US$3 million and deposited the money in the Central Bank of Swaziland.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97684/Swazi-government-sells-food-aidMBABANE 20 March 2013 (IRIN) - Swaziland’s government has sold maize donated by the Japanese government to feed hungry Swazis for US$3 million and deposited the money in the Central Bank of Swaziland.>]]>Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>MAPUTO 15 March 2013 (IRIN) - Mozambique has completed its first HIV vaccine trial and is set to embark on a second, a demonstration of the country’s increased HIV research capacity.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97657/Mozambique-s-first-HIV-vaccine-trial-heralds-new-era-in-local-researchMAPUTO 15 March 2013 (IRIN) - Mozambique has completed its first HIV vaccine trial and is set to embark on a second, a demonstration of the country’s increased HIV research capacity.>]]>Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 14 March 2013 (IRIN) - Collusion among government officials, unscrupulous water vendors and large farm owners results in diverted water supply lines, misappropriated funds, and failure to implement laws on protecting water sources from encroachment and pollution. These are just some of the ways corruption is denying millions of poor people in Africa access to safe and clean drinking water, experts say.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97642/In-Africa-corruption-dirties-the-waterNAIROBI 14 March 2013 (IRIN) - Collusion among government officials, unscrupulous water vendors and large farm owners results in diverted water supply lines, misappropriated funds, and failure to implement laws on protecting water sources from encroachment and pollution. These are just some of the ways corruption is denying millions of poor people in Africa access to safe and clean drinking water, experts say.>]]>Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>HARARE 14 March 2013 (IRIN) - Laina Tavengwa, 34, from Wedza District in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland East Province, no longer sees a point in farming her family’s four-hectare plot.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97645/Grim-food-security-outlook-for-ZimbabweHARARE 14 March 2013 (IRIN) - Laina Tavengwa, 34, from Wedza District in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland East Province, no longer sees a point in farming her family’s four-hectare plot.>]]>Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>HARARE 13 March 2013 (IRIN) - On 16 March Zimbabweans will vote in a referendum on whether to adopt or reject a draft constitution for which the three major political parties have publicly endorsed a Yes vote.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97639/Politicians-push-for-Yes-vote-in-Zimbabwe-apos-s-referendumHARARE 13 March 2013 (IRIN) - On 16 March Zimbabweans will vote in a referendum on whether to adopt or reject a draft constitution for which the three major political parties have publicly endorsed a Yes vote.>]]>Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>HARARE 12 March 2013 (IRIN) - HIV/AIDS activists in Zimbabwe have welcomed the government’s move to address the problem of HIV drug resistance by introducing third-line antiretroviral drug (ARVs). But it remains unclear how the cash-strapped government will finance this, as procuring the drugs will invariably be expensive and could divert resources away from other HIV treatment efforts.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97627/Third-line-ARVs-could-widen-treatment-gap-in-ZimbabweHARARE 12 March 2013 (IRIN) - HIV/AIDS activists in Zimbabwe have welcomed the government’s move to address the problem of HIV drug resistance by introducing third-line antiretroviral drug (ARVs). But it remains unclear how the cash-strapped government will finance this, as procuring the drugs will invariably be expensive and could divert resources away from other HIV treatment efforts.>]]>