HEALTH: World Bank Shifting Gears on AIDS in Africa

The World Bank says it is recalibrating its financing for anti-AIDS efforts in Africa, which shoulders more than two-thirds of the world's HIV/AIDS burden.

TRADE: Zimbabwe Is the Fly in the New FTA Broth

With an electoral crisis, world-record inflation and a collapsing economy blighted by a brain drain and a generally restive population, Zimbabwe could prove to be southern Africa’s ‘‘problem child’’ as the region seeks to link its economies in a new free trade area (FTA).

TRADE-MALAWI: Turmoil as Tobacco Prices Fluctuate

Malawi’s tobacco industry has been in turmoil after wildly fluctuating prices led protesting farmers to force the closure of the auction floors.

TRADE-AFRICA: EU Seeks to Subdue Competitive China

With the ascendance of China as a robust force on Africa’s economic and political scene, plans are afoot in the European Union (EU) to pre-empt the Asian nation’s dominance on the continent by forming a trilateral partnership that places Europe squarely in the centre.

RIGHTS: Women’s Groups Push for Gender-Sensitive Budgets

As women's groups and political activists intensify their global campaign for gender empowerment, there is a growing trend towards "gender budgeting" both among developed and developing nations.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Water "Undervalued and Not Treated With Respect"

A two-day conference on water issues in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which opened Wednesday in Maseru, Lesotho, has seen representatives of government, civil society, the private sector, donors and other groups discuss the likely effects of climate change on development in the region.

LATIN AMERICA: Food Price Inflation Threatens Children

Child malnutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean will be aggravated by global food shortages, even though the region produces much more food than it consumes, say experts and officials.

Q&A: Can Save the MDGs Yet

White banners were draped across public buildings in much of Europe during 2005 as an unlikely coalition of celebrities, church groups and trade unionists took part in the Make Poverty History campaign. The Group of Eight (G8) top industrialised countries and the European Union responded by promising to double their aid to Africa by 2010 at a summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.

DEVELOPMENT: Sweden, Ireland, Britain Lead in Aiding Africa

Sweden, Ireland and Britain top an index of 21 rich countries that ranks their commitment to help develop African nations. The United States, the world's largest economy, was a distant thirteenth, while Japan remains the least committed to the continent among rich nations.

DEVELOPMENT: Can Sorghum Solve the Biofuels Dilemma?

A new crop that provides food, animal feed and fuel at the same time promises to help developing countries redirect money spent on oil imports to benefit their own farmers. Is sweet sorghum biofuel's "holy grail"?

HEALTH-KENYA: Months After Dump Scare, Problems Persist

Every day, the Dandora dumpsite in the eastern part of Nairobi receives 2,000 tonnes of rubbish - about half of the waste generated daily by the capital's 4.5 million people. The 12-hectare site is a low mountain of smouldering trash. Vultures and marabou storks circle overhead in anticipation of a meal.

IRAQ: Food Crisis Hits Fallujah

Sharp increases in food prices have generated a new wave of anti-occupation and anti-U.S. sentiment in Fallujah.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: "Political Will" Needed To Address Food Crisis

The need to give agriculture top billing on governmental "to do" lists has been highlighted at a telephone briefing to discuss the current food crisis as it affects Africa.

COLOMBIA: Therapeutic Abortion – A Right in Name Only?

A woman in Pasto, the capital of the western Colombian province of Nariño, found out that the baby she was expecting was severely deformed. But when she went to the provincial university hospital for an abortion, the chief obstetrician gynaecologist told her that "If your son is born deformed, take him to a circus."

IRAQ: Running Out of Water in Rising Heat

Water supply is drying out in what was once the agriculturally rich Diyala province north of Baghdad. Baquba, the capital city of Diyala, is now running out of water both for drinking and for irrigation.

ENERGY-AFRICA: From Kerosene to the LED, O-HUB and O-BOX

In many of Africa's towns and villages, smoky kerosene lamps are all that keeps the darkness at bay after sunset. However, kerosene is a dangerous and increasingly expensive source of light for Africans who do not have access to electricity - about three-quarters of those living on the continent, according to the World Bank.

LATIN AMERICA: Food Summit Declares Regional Emergency

The presidential summit on "Food for Life", held in Nicaragua, has ended with 16 Latin American countries agreeing to produce more food and sell it at low prices through strategic alliances, amid criticisms of free markets and capitalism.

DEVELOPMENT: Food Crisis Linked to Doha Deal

The issue of rising food prices was raised at the WTO's General Council meeting Wednesday, and for the first time, discussed in some detail. But there remains, as one African delegate put it, "a lot of confusion about the rising prices of commodities and the Doha Round. Somebody needs to demystify the links. The D-G (Director-General) is using this as a bait to catch us on concluding the Round as soon as possible."

NEPAL: Poor Planning Behind Rising Food Prices

As the sole breadwinner in a family of five, Maya Tamang watches her food budget carefully. And she can vouch best for the way many items are steadily disappearing from the table as food prices spiral steadily.

ARGENTINA: Food Inflation Hits People Close to Poverty Line

Poverty is once again growing in Argentina, reversing the downward trend recorded since 2003, as a result of price inflation mainly affecting basic food products, analysts say. But the government’s only response, according to its critics, has been to stop reporting poverty statistics.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Small Can Be Beautiful

Is small the new big when it comes to agriculture in Southern Africa? As rising food prices place this sector firmly in the spotlight, there are compelling examples at hand to make the case for greater investment in small-scale farming.