JOHANNESBURG, 9 February (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

MOZAMBIQUE: Young people's radio show breaks down taboos SOUTH AFRICA: Farmworkers challenged to curb risky behaviour ANGOLA: A year of cholera teaches prevention is better than treatment SWAZILAND: AIDS orphans locked out of schools SOUTH AFRICA: Most children living on the edge SOUTHERN AFRICA: Red Cross programme threatened by funding SWAZILAND: The triumph over fear ZIMBABWE: White farmers can stay to harvest their crops

MOZAMBIQUE: Young people's radio show breaks down taboos Subjects like HIV/AIDS and child trafficking, usually considered taboo in Mozambican society, are being openly discussed by the teenage presenters of radio and television programmes for young people. Radio Mozambique presenter Amelia Maisha Tumgine, 13, is one of several presenters using the airwaves to talk frankly with their peers about subjects that matter to them but are often considered off-limits by parents.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57567

SOUTH AFRICA: Farmworkers challenged to curb risky behaviour January is mango season in Hoedspruit, in South Africa's Limpopo Province, and casual fruit pickers, mostly women, flood the area's farms in search of work. Conditions on the farms already make them a potential breeding ground for HIV infection. Workers usually live in overcrowded compounds away from their families and isolated from HIV and AIDS interventions. Myths about HIV abound, condom use is low, and risky sexual behaviour is high, according to a 2004 survey by the International Organisation for Migration.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57559

ANGOLA: A year of cholera teaches prevention is better than treatment Almost a year into a cholera outbreak, aid agencies and Angola's government have learnt to address the symptoms, but tackling it's causes remains a challenge. At the start of the year, new cases of the waterborne disease seemed to be coming under control, but severe flooding at the end of January caused cholera cases to jump. "Following the heavy rains there were up to 100 new cases a day a week ago - up from 5 to 10 a day - and now the numbers are declining again," Mark van Boekel, head of MSF Holland in Angola told IRIN. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57556

SWAZILAND: AIDS orphans locked out of schools Thousands of Swazi AIDS orphans risk being locked out of school at the start of the new term this week, after the government failed to make good on a promise to provide scholarships for all those unable to afford school fees.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57555

SOUTH AFRICA: Most children living on the edge More than half of South Africa's children are in households that struggle to survive each month, in the continent's wealthiest country, according to the findings of a new report. They are part of families earning less than a US$1 a day, derived mainly from social grants provided by the state, according to the findings of the 'South African Child Gauge 2006', produced by the Children's Institute (CI) at the University of Cape Town. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57543

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Red Cross programme threatened by funding A major campaign by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to scale up its HIV and AIDS programmes in Southern Africa is being threatened by a looming funding shortfall. In October last year the organisation launched an appeal to raise US $300 million for the expansion of its HIV/AIDS efforts over the next five years. According to Françoise Le Goff, head of the regional delegation, based in Harare, Zimbabwe, contributions from donors have so far reached only about 20 percent of that target and are spread across the region, meaning that programmes in some countries are more at risk of disruption than others. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57542

SWAZILAND: The triumph over fear

In a remarkable reversal of perceptions about HIV/AIDS, public testing by religious and business leaders is changing attitudes towards both the disease and being tested for it. As recently as two years ago, most Swazis believed that testing was necessary only for those displaying symptoms of the disease, such as rapid weight loss. Now, public testing is leading to a greater understanding of HIV/AIDS, which, according to UNAIDS, infects 33.4 percent of the adult population - the world's highest prevalence rate.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57537

ZIMBABWE: White farmers can stay to harvest their crops

More than 100 Zimbabwean white commercial farmers whose eviction notices expired this month can stay on to harvest their crops, but their farms will still be up for grabs. The government is forging ahead with plans to acquire more properties owned by white farmers, according to a senior official.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57536

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