JOHANNESBURG, 19 October 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS

SWAZILAND: Coping strategies wear thin in ongoing food crisis ZIMBABWE: Kwashiorkor comes to the capital NAMIBIA: HIV/AIDS dulls shine of good development scores ZIMBABWE: Home-based care succumbing to economic burnout AFRICA: Breakthrough in malaria vaccine trials MALAWI: Role of traditional birth attendants to change

SWAZILAND: Coping strategies wear thin in ongoing food crisis

While aid agencies and the Swazi government scramble to keep a major catastrophe at bay, the mounting food crisis means more and more Swazis can only cope by drastically scaling down food intake and scouring the fields for edible weeds.

About 40 percent of Swaziland's one million people are facing acute food and water shortages. For most, coping with the food scarcity means cutting back on depleted consumption, already endangering the health of thousands according to Comparisons of Coping Mechanisms 2006/2007, a recently released joint annual study by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP).

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74804

ZIMBABWE: Kwashiorkor comes to the capital

Harare local authorities recently reported that cases of kwashiorkor had risen by 43.7 percent in 2006, compared to the previous year, and the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey said conditions such as stunting and underweight, associated with poor food quality and quantity, were increasing in the country's 10 provinces.

Thousands of households are surviving on one meal a day. Food insecurity in urban areas continues to worsen as Zimbabwe's official inflation rate of more than 6,000 percent makes basic commodities both scarce and unaffordable.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74782

NAMIBIA: HIV/AIDS dulls shine of good development scores

A sharp drop in life expectancy, with HIV/AIDS the primary driver, has sent Namibia's human development indicators plummeting; gains in other areas will continue to be undermined by the epidemic unless treatment and prevention programmes are stepped up, a new report warns.

'Trends in Human Development and Human Poverty in Namibia', a report released by the United Nations Development programme on Wednesday, said the HIV/AIDS epidemic remained the single greatest threat to development.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74834

ZIMBABWE: Home-based care succumbing to economic burnout

Zimbabwe's sinking economy and reduced donor support are threatening home-based care programmes for people living with HIV and AIDS, according to a new report.

The survey, jointly produced by the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service and the Health Development Network, noted the impact of runaway inflation - officially pegged at more than 6,000 percent - on HBC schemes once considered models of their kind.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74850

AFRICA: Breakthrough in malaria vaccine trials

An anti-malaria vaccine offering improved protection to children could be registered for use in four years, potentially saving millions of young lives, new research conducted in Mozambique has shown.

Scientists announced this week that a clinical trial involving 214 infants had confirmed the safety of the RTS,S/AS02D malaria vaccine. Research indicated that the vaccine could reduce the risk of new infections by 65 percent.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74863

MALAWI: Role of traditional birth attendants to change

Malawi is planning to change the role of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) in an attempt to reduce one of the world's highest rates of maternal and infant deaths.

A 2004 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey said the maternal and infant mortality rate was 984 out of every 100,000 live births, translating to 6,000 maternal deaths each year.

See report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74871

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