JOHANNESBURG, 7 December 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS

SOUTH AFRICA: Risky sex on drugs a challenge for HIV prevention LESOTHO: Grassroots solutions flourish in hard times SOUTH AFRICA: No registration, no benefits GLOBAL: More on hair care than climate conditioning SOUTH AFRICA: Miners demand safety first SOUTH AFRICA: Gender takes back seat in succession battle AFRICA: Building capacity to attract carbon markets ANGOLA: To tell or not to tell, that is the tricky question SWAZILAND: Too much bread to buy a loaf

SOUTH AFRICA: Risky sex on drugs a challenge for HIV prevention

South Africa's status as the country with the highest number of HIV infections in the world is well known; its rapidly emerging roles as a major transit route for trafficking illegal drugs and the leading consumer in the region is less well documented.

Injecting drug users are an established sub-culture in South Africa but the rising consumption of cheap drugs that tend to increase the likelihood of unprotected sex is causing growing concern. Experts agree that risky sex while under the influence of narcotics is now the country's biggest drug-related HIV problem.

See full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75641

LESOTHO: Grassroots solutions flourish in hard times

The worst drought in 30 years, combined with one of the world's highest HIV rates, has left the mountain kingdom of Lesotho struggling to cope, but there are glimmers of hope as the government and aid agencies come up with innovative responses to the humanitarian crisis.

2007 began with normal rainfall, but then the rain stopped and drought set in. Severe food shortages followed, making it much harder for HIV-positive people on antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to obtain the proper nutrition that is vital to the success of their medication.

See full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75668

SOUTH AFRICA: No registration, no benefits

An innovative outreach programme that uses local schools as the point of entry into South Africa's poorest communities is helping tens of thousands of impoverished rural people obtain previously inaccessible grants and services.

Many South Africans have been unable to access services because they do not have an identity document, which places citizens on the national database. The outreach programme, created and implemented by the Durban-based Media in Education Trust, a non-governmental organisation focusing on rural development, helps to bridge this gap by assisting school children and their families to obtain identity documents.

See full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75683

GLOBAL: More on hair care than climate conditioning

Industrialised countries have only paid about US$163 million towards helping the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) adapt to global warming - less than what Canadians spent on hair conditioner last year - says a new report by the UK-based development agency, Oxfam.

But less than $10 million of this has been dispensed so far, the UN Development Programme's Human Development Report 2007/2008 pointed out.

See full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75684

SOUTH AFRICA: Miners demand safety first

South Africa's Human Rights Commission has called on the mining industry to address safety concerns after 240,000 mine workers downed tools this week in the country's first strike over safety standards.

See full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75712

SOUTH AFRICA: Gender takes back seat in succession battle

In little more than a week South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), will elect new leaders - a choice likely to decide who becomes the country's next president.

After provincial nominations earlier this week, ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma - acquitted in a controversial rape trial last year - is well ahead of his rival, President Thabo Mbeki. Zuma also won the support of the ANC Women's League (ANCWL) - a decision that has staggered most gender activists.

See full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75729

AFRICA: Building capacity to attract carbon markets

Industrialised countries can earn greenhouse gas emission reduction credits by investing in projects that lower emission levels in developing countries, but little of this money has found its way into Africa.

This could be about to change. On 6 December at the climate change conference in Bali, Indonesia, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) announced that efforts were being made to direct more money into Africa.

See full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75727

ANGOLA: To tell or not to tell, that is the tricky question

Maria Antónia* began to wonder about her husband's frequent trips to neighbouring South Africa, especially when he was away for 15 days without contacting her. She decided to investigate whether he was going to South Africa to see another woman, but discovered that he was going to get antiretroviral (ARV) medication because he was HIV positive.

Stories like these are repeated time and again in Angola, but fear of a partner's reaction, fear of being abandoned, fear of discrimination, even fear of shame, are just some of the reasons that prevent people living with HIV from telling those dear to them.

See full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75737

SWAZILAND: Too much bread to buy a loaf

The escalating price of bread is the latest blow to Swazi households, already struggling with a parallel rise in the cost of maizemeal caused by the worst drought in a generation.

On 10 December the price of a loaf of bread will jump by 10 US cents, and by the end of the year a loaf may cost US$1 in a country where over 60 percent of people live on less than US$1 a day, according to the UN Development Programme.

See full report: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75757

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