The WHO Documentation Center in Mozambique compiles electronic news daily, selected from more than 100 pressrooms and sites. The information comes in 4 languages (EN, FR, SP, PT) and covers public health topics like the new WHO publications, news, non WHO documents, etc. You can make a request to receive the newsletter through the email address below.

Recent reports of political skirmishes between the ruling FRELIMO party and the main opposition, RENAMO, ahead of Mozambique's general elections in December, are a cause for concern, say analysts with the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA). RENAMO this week accused the government of moving police units to Maringue in the central province of Sofala, a RENAMO stronghold where its leader Afonso Dhlakama is based, after clashes between the political rivals in the neighbouring town of Inhaminga.

What a joy to open this book and feel the rich uniqueness of Malangatana’s spirit flow over you - the vibrant energy, the colour, the movement, the people and creatures that are undeniably African. Originally published in 1998 in Portuguese by Editorial Caminho (Lisbon), this English translation is a welcome addition to the growing - though still woefully limited – number of monographs on significant contemporary artists in Africa.

Opposition parties in Mozambique have called on Southern African leaders to deal with what they call the violation of democracy in that country. The comment follows the Mozambican electoral commission's decision to allow Mozambicans living abroad to register. There are over 200,000 Mozambicans in other African states and Europe and the opposition claim that it will open the election process to more election fraud. Mozambicans will be going to presidential and parliamentary elections in December.

Save the Children, UK

The post holder will be responsible for the management and strategic planning of SCUK's programme in Mozambique and for representing the organisation at a senior level to a range of stakeholders including government, partners and bilateral agencies.

The consequences of liberalisation for women in the Cashew industry in Mozambique included job losses and subsequent impoverishment, and a decline in wages and conditions for remaining female employees, according to a report by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). The report makes a number of practically-oriented recommendations on how government can reduce poverty and improve outcomes for workers in the industry and emphasises the need to recognise that production, processing and commercialisation overlap, and therefore require integrated approaches which recognise the needs of women in the industry.

UNICEF

UNICEF is seeking a Senior Project Officer for its health and nutrition work in Mozambique. The officer will be responsible, under the overall guidance of the Senior Programme Officer, for the development, design and implementation of all related programmes within the country, including emergency preparedness and response.

Collaboration between government, companies and civil society organisations at local, national and international levels can contribute to gender equity and sustainable development, says an International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) paper that examines the case of cashew production in Mozambique and India. The paper illustrates the danger of a 'race to the bottom' when companies operating in liberalising sectors face few, if any, incentives for good social and environmental practice. The paper found that workers (particularly women) in this sector generally face low wages, poor working conditions, and discrimination.

A Mozambican judge has sentenced seven people to between eight and 14 years in prison for their roles in the country's biggest bank fraud case, which saw a top journalist murdered as part of a cover-up. The sentences closed a case that had gripped Mozambique for years and exposed a web of corruption among the business elite.

Mozambique Health Minister Francisco Songane has said that the country will not be able to launch a nationwide antiretroviral drug program due to "serious" staff and equipment shortages, Reuters reports. This follows an announcement by Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano that the country had launched a pilot program to provide free antiretroviral drugs to 8,000 HIV-positive adults.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) review of Mozambique's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and economic and social plan for 2003 says the country is well placed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs are a set of objectives for human development, to be met by 2015, agreed to by the 147 countries that are signatories to the Millennium Declaration of September 2000.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has defined improvement of basic education programmes as a priority in order to give access to education for all in Africa. This pronouncement was made on Tuesday, the last day of a meeting of the UNESCO general director for Africa with the continent's National Commissions for UNESCO, that gathered about 200 participants in Maputo. UNESCO is also pledging to assist in assuring water supply, the promotion of human rights, of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, and promoting communications at community level.

Three hundred community radio activists, programme producers and community managers met on April 26-30 to formalise a National Community Radio Forum for Mozambique. Activities included discussing statutes and other legal and structural issues, as well the sharing of experiences. The membership-based Forum aims to be a facilitating umbrella for all the 45 community radios and Community Multimedia Centres now on air in Mozambique.

The convicted murderer of Mozambique's top investigative journalist, Carlos Cardoso, has again escaped from jail. Anibal Antonio dos Santos - better known as Anibalzinho - disappeared from the country's maximum security prison on Sunday night, police said.

The Mozambican parliament started on Tuesday to debate a report on its corruption law, with all discussions focusing particularly on article six, concerning applications and petitions to any institution. This law had been passed by the parliament and submitted to the President for promulgation, but the President sent it back to the Assembly, after finding that it contained some aspects that were not constitutional.

Investigators from the Anti-Corruption Unit in the Mozambican Attorney-General's Office have questioned businessman Nyimpine Chissano, the oldest son of President Joaquim Chissano, in connection with the September 2002 escape from the Maputo top security prison of Anibal dos Santos Junior ("Anibalzinho"), reports Friday's issue of the independent weekly "Savana". Anibalzinho was the man who led the death squad recruited to assassinate Mozambique's top investigative journalist, Carlos Cardoso, in November 2000. After his mysterious disappearance from prison on 1 September 2002, he was tried in absentia.

Parliament unanimously approved a resolution ratifying the Kyoto protocol on limiting greenhouse gas emissions, saying Mozambique must play its part in seeking to avert global warming. "Although Mozambique makes a negligible contribution to greenhouse gases, we must think and act globally," Deputy Environment Minister Francisco Mabjaia said. The resolution now goes to President Joachim Chissano for his signature. The 1997 agreement seeks to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which are widely seen as a key factor behind global warming.

Marratane camp has more than 30 churches to meet the spiritual and other needs of less than 5,000 refugees. Some say religion helps them overcome conflict, some simply enjoy the singing and dancing involved, while others are praying for resettlement to the west.

Although little research has been done in the area of child abuse, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said that existing data showed "a grim picture of the reality many children are facing" in Mozambique. The "Government Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child" cites a survey among minor sex workers in the capital, Maputo, in which 25 percent of the children interviewed were between 10 and 14 years old, and 22 percent said their first sexual encounter had been violent and against their will. They had been violated by a close relative, including their own father, or a neighbour. According to UNICEF, some of the underlying causes of abuse and sexual exploitation were poverty, gender discrimination and harmful traditional practices.

Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano received on Wednesday a delegation from the Portuguese section of the human rights body Amnesty International (AI) that is currently visiting Mozambique. Among the delegation's priorities is to request the Mozambican government to ratify the treaty creating the International Criminal Court, a supra-national tribunal that will be empowered to deal with war crimes.