http://www.irinnews.org/irin-fp.aspxUpdated everydayen-gbTue, 07 Feb 2012 12:30:42 GMTFri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>HARARE 03 February 2012 (IRIN) - With global funding for HIV/AIDS on the decline, Zimbabwe's innovative AIDS levy - a 3 percent tax on income - has become a promising source of funding for the country, with a dramatic increase in revenue collected in the past two years.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94786HARARE 03 February 2012 (IRIN) - With global funding for HIV/AIDS on the decline, Zimbabwe's innovative AIDS levy - a 3 percent tax on income - has become a promising source of funding for the country, with a dramatic increase in revenue collected in the past two years.>]]>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>LONDON 03 February 2012 (IRIN) - Ten little-known but debilitating diseases will be high on the agenda of the world's pharmaceutical chiefs, health ministers and donor governments after they pledged their support for a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative to wipe out guinea worm, river blindness, trachoma, leprosy, bilharzia and intestinal worms, among other "neglected" diseases.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94788LONDON 03 February 2012 (IRIN) - Ten little-known but debilitating diseases will be high on the agenda of the world's pharmaceutical chiefs, health ministers and donor governments after they pledged their support for a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative to wipe out guinea worm, river blindness, trachoma, leprosy, bilharzia and intestinal worms, among other "neglected" diseases.>]]>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>TALATA 31 January 2012 (IRIN) - Ernest Rakotoarivony, 45, was teased by some members of the Talata community, a small town 30km north of Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo, after breaking with traditional rice cultivation methods and employing a technique taught to him by a Jesuit priest.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94764TALATA 31 January 2012 (IRIN) - Ernest Rakotoarivony, 45, was teased by some members of the Talata community, a small town 30km north of Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo, after breaking with traditional rice cultivation methods and employing a technique taught to him by a Jesuit priest.>]]>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 31 January 2012 (IRIN) - In the inner-city Johannesburg neighbourhood of Berea, where a large proportion of residents are refugees and asylum-seekers, it is not uncommon to see children playing football in the street or killing time at one of the local parks on a weekday. Judith Manjoro, an out-of-work teacher from Zimbabwe, teamed up with some other community workers two years ago to quiz the children about why they were not in school.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94766JOHANNESBURG 31 January 2012 (IRIN) - In the inner-city Johannesburg neighbourhood of Berea, where a large proportion of residents are refugees and asylum-seekers, it is not uncommon to see children playing football in the street or killing time at one of the local parks on a weekday. Judith Manjoro, an out-of-work teacher from Zimbabwe, teamed up with some other community workers two years ago to quiz the children about why they were not in school.>]]>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>HARARE 30 January 2012 (IRIN) - Over the past few weeks some 900 residents of the Zimbabwean capital Harare have been diagnosed with typhoid, and about 60 have been admitted to hospital, say health authorities.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94758HARARE 30 January 2012 (IRIN) - Over the past few weeks some 900 residents of the Zimbabwean capital Harare have been diagnosed with typhoid, and about 60 have been admitted to hospital, say health authorities.>]]>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 30 January 2012 (IRIN) - About 40 people have died and more than 100,000 are affected by twin storms that struck Mozambique 18-26 January, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94759JOHANNESBURG 30 January 2012 (IRIN) - About 40 people have died and more than 100,000 are affected by twin storms that struck Mozambique 18-26 January, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).>]]>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 25 January 2012 (IRIN) - Two tropical storms in quick succession in Mozambique in recent days have left at least 25 dead, tens of thousands affected by flooding, and communications infrastructure damaged.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94722JOHANNESBURG 25 January 2012 (IRIN) - Two tropical storms in quick succession in Mozambique in recent days have left at least 25 dead, tens of thousands affected by flooding, and communications infrastructure damaged.>]]>Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>MBABANE 23 January 2012 (IRIN) - Swaziland is still short of lab reagents needed for CD4 count testing, which is used to initiate and monitor patients on antiretroviral treatment, and HIV-positive people are growing increasingly frustrated as the country enters its fourth month without a way to establish the strength of their immune system.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94707MBABANE 23 January 2012 (IRIN) - Swaziland is still short of lab reagents needed for CD4 count testing, which is used to initiate and monitor patients on antiretroviral treatment, and HIV-positive people are growing increasingly frustrated as the country enters its fourth month without a way to establish the strength of their immune system.>]]>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 20 January 2012 (IRIN) - Asylum-seekers entering South Africa are no longer being issued with the necessary documents to apply for refugee status. Without a so-called section 23 permit, they are being turned away from Refugee Reception Offices (RROs) and denied the opportunity to legalize their stay in the country.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94692JOHANNESBURG 20 January 2012 (IRIN) - Asylum-seekers entering South Africa are no longer being issued with the necessary documents to apply for refugee status. Without a so-called section 23 permit, they are being turned away from Refugee Reception Offices (RROs) and denied the opportunity to legalize their stay in the country.>]]>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI/JOHANNESBURG 19 January 2012 (IRIN) - Uganda's National Drug Authority recently arrested sales representatives of a company selling a drug that purports to cure HIV; the firm's owners are not licensed to sell medicine and are being sought by the police.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94679NAIROBI/JOHANNESBURG 19 January 2012 (IRIN) - Uganda's National Drug Authority recently arrested sales representatives of a company selling a drug that purports to cure HIV; the firm's owners are not licensed to sell medicine and are being sought by the police.>]]>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>ANTALAHA 19 January 2012 (IRIN) - Environmentalists and the international community are trying to find ways of limiting the damage caused by an explosion in the illegal logging of precious hardwoods in Madagascar since a major political crisis began there nearly three years ago.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94682ANTALAHA 19 January 2012 (IRIN) - Environmentalists and the international community are trying to find ways of limiting the damage caused by an explosion in the illegal logging of precious hardwoods in Madagascar since a major political crisis began there nearly three years ago.>]]>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>MBABANE 18 January 2012 (IRIN) - Recently hundreds of dead fish floated to the surface of a stream which was the only water source for a rural community in Swaziland's drought-prone eastern region. A local sugar processing plant admitted to accidentally discharging toxic effluent into the stream, and brought in water tanks to supply the community until clean-up operations could be completed.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94660MBABANE 18 January 2012 (IRIN) - Recently hundreds of dead fish floated to the surface of a stream which was the only water source for a rural community in Swaziland's drought-prone eastern region. A local sugar processing plant admitted to accidentally discharging toxic effluent into the stream, and brought in water tanks to supply the community until clean-up operations could be completed.>]]>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 18 January 2012 (IRIN) - One part novella and two parts textbook, Saturday is for Funerals* pairs the recollections of Unity Dow, five-times author and Botswana's first female high-court judge, with the analysis of Harvard health sciences professor, virologist and chair of the Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute, Max Essex.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94670JOHANNESBURG 18 January 2012 (IRIN) - One part novella and two parts textbook, Saturday is for Funerals* pairs the recollections of Unity Dow, five-times author and Botswana's first female high-court judge, with the analysis of Harvard health sciences professor, virologist and chair of the Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute, Max Essex.>]]>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 18 January 2012 (IRIN) - Botswana has marked many "firsts" in Africa's fight against the HI virus. IRIN/PlusNews details the most important events in its battle: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94671JOHANNESBURG 18 January 2012 (IRIN) - Botswana has marked many "firsts" in Africa's fight against the HI virus. IRIN/PlusNews details the most important events in its battle: >]]>Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 06 January 2012 (IRIN) - There is an expectation - and has been for several years - that Africa’s economic powerhouse, South Africa, would become a leading player in the continent’s peacekeeping operations, but analysts say this is wishful thinking at best, and possibly misguided.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94597JOHANNESBURG 06 January 2012 (IRIN) - There is an expectation - and has been for several years - that Africa’s economic powerhouse, South Africa, would become a leading player in the continent’s peacekeeping operations, but analysts say this is wishful thinking at best, and possibly misguided.>]]>Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 06 January 2012 (IRIN) - Several thousand Angolan returnees from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are stranded by floods in northeastern Angola. They are among the first casualties of what promises to be a very wet rainy season in parts of southern Africa.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94598JOHANNESBURG 06 January 2012 (IRIN) - Several thousand Angolan returnees from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are stranded by floods in northeastern Angola. They are among the first casualties of what promises to be a very wet rainy season in parts of southern Africa.>]]>Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>MHONDORO 03 January 2012 (IRIN) - Barbra Phiri, 20, a single mother living on a farm settlement in rural Mhondoro, about 45km southwest of the Zimbabwean capital Harare, does not think twice about letting her two-year-old twins splash about in a pool of greenish water close to her hut.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94575MHONDORO 03 January 2012 (IRIN) - Barbra Phiri, 20, a single mother living on a farm settlement in rural Mhondoro, about 45km southwest of the Zimbabwean capital Harare, does not think twice about letting her two-year-old twins splash about in a pool of greenish water close to her hut.>]]>Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 30 December 2011 (IRIN) - More than five years after the Front for the Liberation of Cabinda (FLEC) filed a complaint with the African Union (AU) against the Angolan government for alleged human rights abuses, the AU says it is willing to hear the “merits” of appointing a special rapporteur to investigate the claims.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94572JOHANNESBURG 30 December 2011 (IRIN) - More than five years after the Front for the Liberation of Cabinda (FLEC) filed a complaint with the African Union (AU) against the Angolan government for alleged human rights abuses, the AU says it is willing to hear the “merits” of appointing a special rapporteur to investigate the claims.>]]>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - In 2011 the global economic crisis combined with poor governance, financial mismanagement and unpredictable rainfall to push several southern African countries to the point of crisis. Others responded to rising unemployment and increased pressure on national budgets by hardening their attitude towards immigrants and closing their borders to asylum-seekers. IRIN covered developments from all over the region, but the following stories consistently grabbed headlines:http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94564JOHANNESBURG 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - In 2011 the global economic crisis combined with poor governance, financial mismanagement and unpredictable rainfall to push several southern African countries to the point of crisis. Others responded to rising unemployment and increased pressure on national budgets by hardening their attitude towards immigrants and closing their borders to asylum-seekers. IRIN covered developments from all over the region, but the following stories consistently grabbed headlines:>]]>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - Computers and mobile phones are already essential to humanitarian planning, and 2011 saw the growth of technology-based humanitarian interventions, from the use of GPS (global positioning systems) to provide early weather warnings to real-time health reporting.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94565NAIROBI 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - Computers and mobile phones are already essential to humanitarian planning, and 2011 saw the growth of technology-based humanitarian interventions, from the use of GPS (global positioning systems) to provide early weather warnings to real-time health reporting.>]]>Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>HARARE 27 December 2011 (IRIN) - Veteran small-scale farmer Trynos Mamombe has returned to maize farming after two years, thanks to a multi-partner initiative which is helping him to market his crop and get paid for it promptly.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94526HARARE 27 December 2011 (IRIN) - Veteran small-scale farmer Trynos Mamombe has returned to maize farming after two years, thanks to a multi-partner initiative which is helping him to market his crop and get paid for it promptly.>]]>Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>HARARE 23 December 2011 (IRIN) - After working for 42 years at a private company as an office messenger, Kamunjoma Dikani, 73, retired in 2000, just as Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation began to take root.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94521HARARE 23 December 2011 (IRIN) - After working for 42 years at a private company as an office messenger, Kamunjoma Dikani, 73, retired in 2000, just as Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation began to take root.>]]>Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>MANANJARY 22 December 2011 (IRIN) - Legal aid clinics are playing an important role during Madagascar's current political and economic crisis, especially for poverty-hit rural women who are under-served by the country's ailing judicial system.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94519MANANJARY 22 December 2011 (IRIN) - Legal aid clinics are playing an important role during Madagascar's current political and economic crisis, especially for poverty-hit rural women who are under-served by the country's ailing judicial system.>]]>Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 20 December 2011 (IRIN) - While most nations are dependent to some extent on the world’s 214 million migrants for skills and labour, few ensure these migrants have access to their health systems, something that could have dire public health consequences, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94511JOHANNESBURG 20 December 2011 (IRIN) - While most nations are dependent to some extent on the world’s 214 million migrants for skills and labour, few ensure these migrants have access to their health systems, something that could have dire public health consequences, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).>]]>Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>BLANTYRE 19 December 2011 (IRIN) - Devaluation, fuel shortages and economic mismanagement have conspired to push staple food prices to “alarming levels” in urban areas of Malawi, where even catching a bus to work has become an unaffordable luxury for many, according to residents and analysts.http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94498BLANTYRE 19 December 2011 (IRIN) - Devaluation, fuel shortages and economic mismanagement have conspired to push staple food prices to “alarming levels” in urban areas of Malawi, where even catching a bus to work has become an unaffordable luxury for many, according to residents and analysts.>]]>