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Making a dent in South Africa’s drug culture

JOHANNESBURG, 17 June 2013 (IRIN) - In pink tracksuit and big sunglasses, Nomvula Mokonyane, premier of South Africa’s Gauteng Province, delivered a combative warning to the drug dealers of Eldorado Park that had the crowd buzzing: “Leave, your days are numbered!” But then a distraught mother, urged to speak but unable to, brought everyone back down to earth with the news that her addict daughter had just died. full report

Analysis: AU prepares its shock troops

 JOHANNESBURG, 31 May 2013 (IRIN) - A newly sanctioned African Union (AU) force for quick deployment in conflicts such as in Mali is being promoted as a stop-gap measure ahead of the planned formation of the “rapid deployment capability” (RDC) African Standby Force (ASF). full report

Digital jobs offer skills, promise to Africa's unemployed youth

 JOHANNESBURG/NAIROBI, 28 May 2013 (IRIN) - Although Africa’s economy has expanded rapidly in recent years, it has not kept pace with the growth of its youth population or their need for jobs. full report

Cape Town's asylum seekers struggle to get documented

 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. full report

Quelling xenophobia in South Africa's townships

 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. full report

South Africa's flawed asylum system

 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. full report

Shortages of new one-a-day ARV pills in South Africa

 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. full report

TB testing in South Africa rolling out slowly

 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. full report

Southern Africa cracks down on TB in mines

 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. full report

Aid for Trade - does it help the poor?

 LONDON, 12 March 2013 (IRIN) - Since the World Trade Organization launched its Aid for Trade initiative in 2005, an estimated US$200 billion dollars of development funding has been mobilized for the programme. But some NGOs are asking whether Aid for Trade really helps reduce poverty. full report

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