Zambian nongovernmental organisation (NGO) revealed this week that it records eight cases of rape of young girls every week at its centre in the capital, Lusaka. The statistics were released by the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of Zambia to mark the start of the global campaign, '16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence', which runs from 25 November - International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women - until International Human Rights Day on 10 December.

An outbreak of cholera in northern Zambia has forced the government to shut a border post with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after reported cases rose to 105 on Monday (20 November 2006). "We have closed Chiengi border post with immediate effect, in order to ensure there is no further spread of the disease.

As stake holders embark on the 16 days of gender activism against gender violence to help eliminate all forms of violence, it is important to reflect on what is currently at stake such as gaps in the laws addressing gender based violence to protect children.

Zambia's maternal mortality ratio is 728 per 100,000 live births, Health minister, Angela Cifire, has disclosed. Speaking yesterday (14 November 2006) when she received surgical and medical supplies to the department of obstetrician and gynaecology worth US$150,000 from UNFPA goodwill ambassador, Geri Halliwell, on behalf of the University Teaching Hospital (UTH), Ms Cifire said it was Government's intention to expedite the health agenda for Zambia for it to be beyond reproach.

Rising demand for the services of traditional healers is drawing Tanzanian Masai practitioners across the border to fill the void left by the creaking Zambian public health system, but their discounted prices are upsetting their local counterparts.

Orphaned at the age of nine, Miselo fell into prostitution at 14, plying her trade in bars and clubs in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, sometimes waking up beaten, lost and dumped on the street. Now 18, she has an 18-month old daughter to care for. Hardly a charmed life – but it could have been much worse. Last year, Miselo met a truck driver at a bar where she was working and they struck up a friendship that seemed truer than the usual quick-money relationships she was used to.

President Levy Mwanawasa is reasserting his authority to ensure that Zambia's hangover from the bitterly contested elections does not become a permanent state of affairs. In the wake of the country's fourth multiparty elections since 1991, when it emerged from 27 years of one-party rule, wide-scale rioting broke out amid allegations of voter rigging, with presidential runner-up Michael Sata, of the Patriotic Front, threatening to impose his party's policies in areas where they had an overwhelming majority.

Despite being the majority, women have once again failed the political gender test in the Zambian general elections, Shoshong MP and vice chairperson of SADC Parliamentary Forum, Duke Lefhoko has said. The failure in Zambia is even puzzling because apart from the fact that they had numerical advantage at the voting roll, women were prominent and active in the campaigns.

Police are ignoring appeals for the release of over 100 people facing charges of riotous behaviour in the wake of Zambia's bitterly contested fourth multiparty elections. "All those we picked up in Lusaka [the capital] have been formally arrested and charged with riotous behaviour, and they have to appear in court to answer charges according to the law -there are no two ways about it," said police spokesman Bonny Kapeso. Supporters of Michael Sata, leader of the opposition Patriotic Front (PF) party, went on the rampage after it became clear on the second day of counting after the poll on 28 September that his bid for the presidency was lost, and President Levy Mwanawasa would secure a second and final five-year term of office.

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved a US$23 million credit to assist the Government of Zambia to consolidate on-going reforms in the water sector, by improving access and sustainability of water and sanitation for consumers in Lusaka. The project also provides funding that will lead to a more coordinated approach for water and sanitation investments countrywide.

Elimination of double-digit inflation, economic growth in the region of five percent last year, a reduction of foreign debt from some seven billion dollars to 500 million: these are figures guaranteed to earn the president of a developing country another term in office, not so? Maybe yes, Maybe no.

Zambia's newly elected president, Levy Mwanawasa, pledged to improve the lives of the country's millions of poor, and extended an olive branch to his rivals as he took the oath of office after an abrasive and bitter general election campaign. His two closest contenders for the presidency, Michael Sata of the Patriotic Front (PF) and Hakainde Hichilema of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), were conspicuous by their absence at the presidential inauguration ceremony, held in the more secluded grounds of parliament after a last minute change from the traditional venue of the High Court.

The EISA Observer Mission to the Zambian Tripartite Elections has made its assessment of the poll and its preliminary findings and recommendations are presented in this interim statement. Our observations and views regarding the electoral process in Zambia are based on the guidelines enshrined in the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC Region (PEMMO).

Presidential incumbent Levy Mwanawasa is to be sworn in on Tuesday (October 3) after winning a second and final term in office with 42 percent of the vote, with his nearest rival conceding defeat and calling for an end to election protests.

EISA is pleased to announce the official launch of its Election Observer Mission to the 2006 Tripartite Elections in Zambia scheduled for Thursday 28 September 2006. The Mission, which is led by Mr Abel Leshele Thoahlane, Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission of Lesotho and of the EISA Board of Directors, is in the country at the invitation of the Electoral Commission of Zambia.

SIAVONGA district health acting director Dr Joseph Kabungo has urged government to complete the construction of the maternity ward at the district hospital. In an interview, Dr Kabungo said it was not right for expectant mothers to be using the general female admission ward for delivery.

Zambian elections on 28 September are on course but for lack of women representation, which is down from five years ago. Just 103 women are contesting against 606 men for the 150 parliamentary seats available, according to figures from the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ). This represents 15 percent women representation in the polls. Unless all women candidates are elected, which is unlikely, the proportion will be lower when the final results are announced.

Zambia's general election, set for 28 September, is expected to be a bitter and closely contested affair. Political analysts believe the country's fourth multiparty poll since it emerged from 27 years of one-party rule in 1991 will be a hard-fought contest for the incumbent, President Levy Mwanawasa of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD), who is seeking a second and final term of office.

China's ascendance as a global economic superpower obviously poses a threat to what the author calls "the culture of domination by the economically strong [West]". African countries might choose to associate with China not only because it produces more affordable goods, but because of cultural similarities and a sense of humility quite opposite from Western self-congratulation.

Recent Zambian research into the antiretroviral (ARV) drug, nevirapine, has found that it does not compromise the long-term health of women, contradicting earlier studies conducted in Uganda. Nevirapine is widely used in Africa to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. A single dose of nevirapine is given to the mother before birth and to her baby after birth.