Development Blogs.com

Rupiah Banda (MMD) is the new President of Zambia. He's won the election by the narrowest of margins defeating Michael Sata by about 1% of the vote. Sata and his Patriotic Front party are now crying foul and claiming that the election has been stolen from them. Unfortunately The Post newspaper, once a bastion of impartiality, is adding fuel to what might turn out to be a nasty fire. Sata said before the election that he would only accept the outcome if he won! The danger is that he now tries to mobilise the popular support he has in the urban areas and causes civil disobedience. Zambia is a peaceful country with no history of violence and there is great respect for the rule of law. However, Sata is a dangerous populist and should he wish to he can organise and mobilise a dangerous level...

Zambia has a population of about 11 million people. More than one million of Zambians are living with HIV. Estimates put the prevelance rate at around 20%. 290 000 Zambians are in need of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and this is the official figure that only takes account of those who know their status. As at March 2006, an estimated 76000 people were on ART in Zambia.That 76000 Zambians are currently on ARV treatment as of now is not a mean achievement at all one when considers the circumstances. In fact it is quite a phenomenal feat. Especially when we consider that less than three years ago in 2003, during the pilot phase of ART in the Zambian public health sector, there were only 2,000 people on treatment in two centres at Lusaka’s UTH and Ndola Central Hospital. In the second phase...

The Zambian health deputy minister Chilufya Kazenene has raised alarm about HIV/AIDS in rural areas reaching alarming levels in the next few years if the current interventions are not scaled up as a matter of urgency.It will be very sad if some rural areas in Zambia which currently have relatively low prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS start to experience an upward swing in the spread of this virus because very little is being done to ensure that things do not get worse in the rural areas. Zambia has areas like Northern Province with 8.3 per cent infection rate and North-Western Province with 9.2 per cent but very little is being done to help these provinces push down these rates. Obviously areas like Lusaka with 22 per cent infection rates and Copperbelt with 19.9 per cent will definitely...

Tendai Musendera (not her real name) collects a pile of dirty old rags to form a pillow as she prepares to sleep on the pavement at Intercity Bus Terminus after a hard day of walking the streets of Lusaka selling Zimbabwean chocolates, sweets and second-hand clothes.There are many other Zimbabweans who are positioning themselves on the pavement to fit in the available space as it becomes occupied.Unaware she is speaking to a journalist Musendera asks: "Where did you go and sell my brother? This has been a frustrating day because all my chocolates melted in this heat. I am so tired I just need to sleep but let me just give that manager my sleeping allowance for today first."The manager in question is the one who is in charge of Intercity Bus Terminus. He asks for about K10 000 (Z$1 400 on...

Zambia has a population of about 11 million people. More than one million of Zambians are living with HIV. Estimates put the prevelance rate at around 20%. 290 000 Zambians are in need of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and this is the official figure that only takes account of those who know their status. As at March 2006, an estimated 76000 people were on ART in Zambia.That 76000 Zambians are currently on ARV treatment as of now is not a mean achievement at all one when considers the circumstances. In fact it is quite a phenomenal feat. Especially when we consider that less than three years ago in 2003, during the pilot phase of ART in the Zambian public health sector, there were only 2,000 people on treatment in two centres at Lusaka’s UTH and Ndola Central Hospital. In the second phase...

The Zambian health deputy minister Chilufya Kazenene has raised alarm about HIV/AIDS in rural areas reaching alarming levels in the next few years if the current interventions are not scaled up as a matter of urgency.It will be very sad if some rural areas in Zambia which currently have relatively low prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS start to experience an upward swing in the spread of this virus because very little is being done to ensure that things do not get worse in the rural areas. Zambia has areas like Northern Province with 8.3 per cent infection rate and North-Western Province with 9.2 per cent but very little is being done to help these provinces push down these rates. Obviously areas like Lusaka with 22 per cent infection rates and Copperbelt with 19.9 per cent will definitely...

Tendai Musendera (not her real name) collects a pile of dirty old rags to form a pillow as she prepares to sleep on the pavement at Intercity Bus Terminus after a hard day of walking the streets of Lusaka selling Zimbabwean chocolates, sweets and second-hand clothes.There are many other Zimbabweans who are positioning themselves on the pavement to fit in the available space as it becomes occupied.Unaware she is speaking to a journalist Musendera asks: "Where did you go and sell my brother? This has been a frustrating day because all my chocolates melted in this heat. I am so tired I just need to sleep but let me just give that manager my sleeping allowance for today first."The manager in question is the one who is in charge of Intercity Bus Terminus. He asks for about K10 000 (Z$1 400 on...

Zambia has a population of about 11 million people. More than one million of Zambians are living with HIV. Estimates put the prevelance rate at around 20%. 290 000 Zambians are in need of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and this is the official figure that only takes account of those who know their status. As at March 2006, an estimated 76000 people were on ART in Zambia.That 76000 Zambians are currently on ARV treatment as of now is not a mean achievement at all one when considers the circumstances. In fact it is quite a phenomenal feat. Especially when we consider that less than three years ago in 2003, during the pilot phase of ART in the Zambian public health sector, there were only 2,000 people on treatment in two centres at Lusaka’s UTH and Ndola Central Hospital. In the second phase...

The Zambian health deputy minister Chilufya Kazenene has raised alarm about HIV/AIDS in rural areas reaching alarming levels in the next few years if the current interventions are not scaled up as a matter of urgency.It will be very sad if some rural areas in Zambia which currently have relatively low prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS start to experience an upward swing in the spread of this virus because very little is being done to ensure that things do not get worse in the rural areas. Zambia has areas like Northern Province with 8.3 per cent infection rate and North-Western Province with 9.2 per cent but very little is being done to help these provinces push down these rates. Obviously areas like Lusaka with 22 per cent infection rates and Copperbelt with 19.9 per cent will definitely...

Tendai Musendera (not her real name) collects a pile of dirty old rags to form a pillow as she prepares to sleep on the pavement at Intercity Bus Terminus after a hard day of walking the streets of Lusaka selling Zimbabwean chocolates, sweets and second-hand clothes.There are many other Zimbabweans who are positioning themselves on the pavement to fit in the available space as it becomes occupied.Unaware she is speaking to a journalist Musendera asks: "Where did you go and sell my brother? This has been a frustrating day because all my chocolates melted in this heat. I am so tired I just need to sleep but let me just give that manager my sleeping allowance for today first."The manager in question is the one who is in charge of Intercity Bus Terminus. He asks for about K10 000 (Z$1 400 on...