Moketsi Nleya, a subsistence farmer in rural Madlambuzi, western Zimbabwe, painfully retrieves a bunch of thin brown roots from under his pillow, which he breaks into tiny fragments and chews, followed by a cupful of an analgesic herbal concoction that also acts as a sedative. Nleya, 55, is among a growing number of HIV/AIDS patients in rural Zimbabwe who have to resort to traditional medicine because they have no direct access to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy.

Gladys Charowa

People with disabilities (Spinal Cord Injuries) held a five day national workshop for trainers from August 23 - 27 2004 at Ruwa National Rehabilitation Centre near the capital Harare. The aim was to physically empower newly injured people in hospitals and rehabilitation centres with information on how to manage their conditions after injuries. Research has revealed that if newly injured people are given adequate information about their conditions early, and from people in similar situations, it would reduce the period of time spent in hospital and rehabilitation centres and will save on resources of the patient and government Other research also reveals that in under developed countries, people with spinal cord injuries die within two years after their injuries due to lack of information and poverty.

The current situation in Zimbabwe under the ZANU-PF government shows increasing signs of abuse of power by those in political control. They also direct their desire to suppress criticism towards the media. Press organs in private ownership have been closed down and journalists have been physically harassed, arrested and expelled. Laws are abused to regulate and manipulate public opinion by a policy of banning. Worldwide condemnation of the growing restrictions upon the freedom of expression goes hand in hand with the protests inside the country against the growing tendencies of totalitarian rule.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the City University (London) have embarked on research on the contributions Zimbabweans in the diaspora make or are interested in making towards the development of their country. The research is targeted at Zimbabweans living in the United Kingdom and in South Africa.

The African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (Apnac), Zimbabwe chapter, which seeks to strengthen the commitment and capacity of MPs to fight corruption, will be relaunched next week, public accounts committee chairperson Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga has said. Apnac is a continental network which seeks to build the capacity of parliaments to exercise accountability with particular relation to financial matters, undertaking projects to control corruption and cooperating with organisations in civil society with shared objectives.

Zimbabwe's main opposition party says it will not take part in future elections unless the government implements democratic reforms. In a statement, the MDC said that it wanted a new legal framework for elections, with acceptable levels of transparency and fairness.

The Zimbabwean government this week defended its controversial NGO bill which would ban foreign NGOs concerned with "issues of governance" and deny registration to NGOs receiving foreign funding for "promotion and protection of human rights". In a statement issued by the Ministry of Labour and placed in all Sunday Newspapers, the Government described the organisations as a "threat to national security" and accused donors of employing "local puppets to champion foreign values."

Women in Politics Support Unit (WiPSU) has just launched its website which can be accessed on www.wipsu.org.zw. The site covers WiPSU programs and activities, women's participation in local government and Parliament, as well as profiles of Zimbawe's current women MPs. Please send comments and enquiries to [email protected].

The United States has called for the building of a "coalition of the willing" to push for regime change to end the crisis in Zimbabwe. The new American ambassador to South Africa, Jendayi Frazer, said quiet diplomacy pursued by South Africa and other African countries in its dealings with the Zimbabwe president needed a review because there was no evidence it was working. She said her country would be willing to be part of a coalition if invited.

Zimbabwean women are urging greater representation in the next parliament ahead of the country's sixth general election, to be held in March next year. Thenjiwe Lesabe, secretary of the ruling ZANU-PF party Women's League, said at the weekend that women would push for a 50 percent quota in parliament and other ZANU-PF organs at the party's congress in December.

Catholic Institute for International Relations

The position holder will be responsible for assisting two organisations in the development of their fundraising strategies and for training their staff in the writing of funding proposals and the creation of marketing strategies. Candidates should hold a relevant degree or qualification and have a minimum of three years experience in organisational development of NGOs or CBOs as well as proven experience in training.

The urgent need for additional alternative daily sources of information, including an independent national broadcaster, was further confirmed by the government-controlled media’s censorship of reports disproving claims that the country had produced sufficient food, according to the latest edition of the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ).

Morgan Tsvangirai

"Often Zimbabwean women show a deep level of mistrust over their exclusion in key decision-making processes, in politics, in public administration, in management and in the allocation of national resources. The issue is rooted in our history. It is true that women have been denied their space, by customary laws, tradition and patriarchy, by colonialism and exploitation, through political oppression and by certain biased practices in our African culture. It is true that they lead a life characterized by obstacles which demand serious attention and long term solutions."

The World Bank's assistance programmes in Zimbabwe have been largely "unsatisfactory" over the past two decades, a new independent assessment has concluded. According to a Country Assistance Evaluation (CAE) report released in May this year, the impact of the Bank's programmes on the country's overall development between 1980 and 2001 had been "negligible". The CAE is an official assessment mechanism that appraises the relevancy, efficacy, and institutional development of the Bank's assistance programmes.

Traditional practices of polygamy, virginity testing and 'kugara nhaka' (wife inheritance), inhibit women's control over their bodies and increase vulnerability to HIV infection, but activists are split on the best way to tackle the customs. "Where the cultural practice is not seen as a violation and is believed in, it's difficult to police," said Emedie Gunduza, advocacy officer of the Women and AIDS Support Network (WASN). She told IRIN that the more economically disadvantaged the woman, the more prone she was to wife inheritance.

Zimbabwean activism for access to life-saving HIV-treatment has been thrown into a quandary following the rejection of the country's proposal in the fourth round of funding by the Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Treatment activism efforts have been flustered after the decision, which was made at the eighth meeting of the GFTAM board, held in Geneva late last June. Zimbabwe had requested US$218million from the GFTAM in order to combat HIV/AIDS over a five-year period. The country is among the worst-hit by the AIDS pandemic, with an estimated 25 percent of its adult population living with HIV, which causes AIDS. Estimates of weekly AIDS-related deaths range from 1 800 to 3 000, depending on the source of statistics, which is high regardless of the figures one chooses to use.

Foreign donors are skeptical that Zimbabwe's "increasingly repressive government" will "fairly or honestly" channel funds for antiretroviral drugs to groups and individuals who need the money, the New York Times reports. Earlier this year, the Zimbabwean government announced a pilot project to distribute antiretroviral drugs at no cost to patients in select government hospitals.

Undercover investigators have arrested an army captain and four soldiers from the SA National Defence Force for allegedly ambushing, stripping and robbing illegal Zimbabwean immigrants. The soldiers are also accused of raping a number of Zimbabwean women before making them swim the crocodile-infested Limpopo River back to Zimbabwe.

Journalists are among around 500 striking workers in Zimbabwe's state-owned press who are being threatened with dismissal, reports Dumisani Sigogo. Industrial action began August 2 as a sit-in over grievances around salary hikes, sexual harrassment, nepotism and mismanagement. Later in the week, the action developed into a full strike that has forced managers, interns, editors and supervisors to take over the jobs of journalists and production staff.

Zimbabweans living in South Africa face serious obstacles in accessing political asylum. But as the political crisis continues to grow in Zimbabwe, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is failing to advocate for Zimbabweans’ right to protection under international standards and South African domestic legislation. UNHCR has not provided sufficient support to the Government of South Africa in defining and implementing its refugee policy towards Zimbabweans. Further, UNHCR staff in South Africa downplay the political crisis in Zimbabwe and show a marked tendency to dismiss the legitimacy of Zimbabweans’ overall case for asylum, making a minimal effort to provide direct protection.