JOHANNESBURG, 14 September 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Limited supplies, biofuel demand push maize prices up ZIMBABWE: Desperate times bring desperate measures ZAMBIA: Bibles and condoms SOUTHERN AFRICA: The effect of migration on HIV rates SWAZILAND: Tradition as a force against HIV/AIDS ZAMBIA: Global markets boost incomes of small-scale farmers SWAZILAND: Water rationing arrives

ZIMBABWE: Mental health disorders on the rise GLOBAL: Monetised food aid under scrutiny GLOBAL: Food prices buoyed by biofuel affect aid MOZAMBIQUE: Religious leaders dampen rising tension

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Limited supplies, biofuel demand push maize prices up

Increased global demand for biofuel has pushed up the already buoyant price of maize in South Africa, forcing aid agencies to procure food from elsewhere to feed an expected more than six million food-insecure people in southern Africa.

After a second consecutive poor maize harvest in South Africa, which usually meets food shortfalls in the region, prices have been high, according to the latest USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS-NET). Demand-driven world prices, especially in the USA, where maize is increasingly used to produce ethanol, have also pushed up prices in South Africa, and is expected to keep them high for the rest of the year.

Full report:

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74286

ZIMBABWE: Desperate times bring desperate measures

A new breed of entrepreneur has evolved in Zimbabwe's ever-deteriorating economy, adapted to take advantage of an environment characterised by food shortages and increasingly scarce basic commodities.

The new professionals are known as 'queuers', who buy goods at discounted prices as a result of forced government price cuts and resell them at a substantial profit on the illegal parallel market.

Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74281

ZAMBIA: Bibles and condoms

It is mandatory that Zambia's hotels, lodges and guest houses stock at least two Bibles in each of their rooms, but it is rare to come across condoms or even condom-vending machines, despite many of these establishments being used by commercial sex workers and their clients.

About one in five sexually active people, or 1.6 million of Zambia's population of 10 million, are infected with HIV/AIDS; health activists are advocating that condoms, like Bibles, should be distributed free of charge in hotels and other venues offering commercial accommodation.

Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74280

SOUTHERN AFRICA: The effect of migration on HIV rates

Trying to measure the impact of the Zimbabwean exodus on HIV/AIDS rates in the region is so fraught with ifs, buts and maybes that the only reasonable assumption is that, like other migrants, economic migrants may run a higher risk of infection than they would have if they had not left their homes.

The scale of Zimbabwean migration to neighbouring states is disputed, with estimates ranging from more than three million people to a few hundred thousand, making an overall assessment of the actual spike in transference of the disease, if any, in the region difficult to assess, but it is accepted that the act of migration tends to increase HIV/AIDS infections.

Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74260

SWAZILAND: Tradition as a force against HIV/AIDS

Circumstance, rather than planning, has placed the battle against HIV/AIDS firmly in the hands of Swaziland's 355 chiefdoms.

The decentralisation strategy has evolved from government's failure to command the fight against the disease, or even deliver healthcare at its urban hospitals, and much less so in rural areas, where four out of five Swazis live.

Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74301

ZAMBIA: Global markets boost incomes of small-scale farmers

Struggling with low prices for their produce in the domestic market, a growing number of small-scale farmers in Zambia have managed to turn their lives around by supplying international markets.

Luke Mbewe, chief executive officer of the Zambia Export Growers Association, an umbrella organisation of small-scale and commercial farmers cultivating vegetables and cut flowers, said returns were high for farmers who targeted the international market, especially the European Union (EU).

Full report:

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74252

SWAZILAND: Water rationing arrives

Swazis have become acquainted with the term "water rationing" as they struggle to cope with one of the longest dry periods in memory.

"Water levels are down nationwide," said Jameson Mkhonta, public relations officer for the Swaziland Water Services Corporation, the parastatal water utility. "The drought ... [has affected the entire country], and not just in the south and east where it is usually dry."

Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74231

ZIMBABWE: Mental health disorders on the rise

Zimbabwe's rapid descent into recession, which has seen official inflation rates climb to over 7,600 percent - the world's highest - and unemployment levels of 80 percent, has also seen a steep rise in mental health disorders.

Dr Dickson Chibanda, a psychiatrist formerly employed by Zimbabwe's health ministry, told participants at a recent workshop that 40 percent of the country's about 12 million people, or more than a third of the population, were suffering from poor mental health and he was concerned by the government's lack of national mental health assessment programmes.

Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74224

GLOBAL: Monetised food aid under scrutiny

US charity CARE International made headlines last month when it said it would turn down US government aid to sell American food in developing countries. The funds generated by "monetisation" programmes are usually reinvested in other projects.

The US is one of very few countries that sell food aid in recipient countries; most donors give food in kind or supply cash to UN agencies or NGOs for buying food on national or world markets.

Full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74257

GLOBAL: Food prices buoyed by biofuel affect aid

Maize and wheat prices have shot up to their highest levels since 2000 in the past few months, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which says an increased demand for biofuel production may keep prices above historic levels for the next 10 years and have an impact on food aid.

"Market prices for these commodities affect food aid," said Merritt Cluff, senior economist in FAO's commodities section. "Since budgets for food aid are largely fixed, and determined as part of a budgeting process, higher prices mean that less can be purchased."

Full report:

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74287

MOZAMBIQUE: Religious leaders dampen rising tension

Religious leaders in northern Mozambique are making attempts to prevent any possible outbreak of communal violence after three mosques were burnt in a matter of weeks in Lichinga, capital of Niassa Province.

The police are investigating arson attacks on the mosques, one of which was set alight last week. The incidents are highly unusual in Mozambique, where religious tolerance is the norm. A suspect has been arrested.

Full report:

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74298

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