GABORONE - A Gaborone city councillor, Mr Oabile Mafunga says Botswana has one of the worlds highest burdens of tuberculosis (TB).

Officiating at a TB patient information sharing session in Gaborone last week, Councillor Mafunga who was speaking on behalf of the mayor said the current notification rate in Botswana was at 470 per 100 000 population.

He regretted that more than 10 per cent of institutional admissions and over five per cent of patient attendances were due to TB related diseases.

Mr Mafunga also noted that TB was one

GABORONE, Botswana, 17 December 2009 - The devastating impact of HIV and AIDS in Botswana has directed much of the country's attention to children's survival. To ensure that children's rights remain a priority here as well, faith-based organizations are lending a hand.

Recently, in connection with this year's launch of the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children, religious groups - together with UNICEF and its government partners - released a series of publications targeted toward children, faith communities and religious leaders.

The publication project - consisting

The Minister of Education and Skills Development ,Mrs Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi says Botswana has developed an action programme to help it meet its obligation to the international convention on desertification. She said the National Action Programme (NAP) outlines the strategies and activities to be undertaken to meet the objective of the United Nations Convention to combat desertification (UNCCD). The programme was launched in 2006. The country signed the convention in 1995 and ratified it in 1996. Mrs Venson-Moitoi was answering a question on behalf of the Minister of

GABORONE, Dec 03, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Botswana has received yet another grant of 20 million yuan (3 million U. S. dollars) from China in support of the development of the diamond rich southern African country, the government said on Thursday.

China's new offer made on Wednesday brings the total to 30 million yuan (4.5 million dollars) this year.

In May, Botswana received 10 million yuan (1.5 million U. S. dollars) as part of the Chinese technical assistance program to African countries.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Botswana

- Bank marks World AIDS Day 2009 with an institutional commitment to stay the course in confronting HIV/AIDS epidemic

- Bank support to countries focuses on better understanding epidemic trends; where and how new infections are occurring

- Bank holds a high-level panel discussion with health, development leaders on the topic of "Keeping the Promise, Investing in the Future"

December 1, 2009 - With the latest HIV/AIDS figures from the UN showing a gratifying downwards trend in new infections, the Bank marks World AIDS Day 2009 today with an institutional

JOHANNESBURG, 30 November 2009 (PlusNews) - The theme for World AIDS Day 2009 is 'Universal Access and Human Rights', and the efforts of the continent's developing countries to reach some of the key indicators of universal access are under closer scrutiny than ever. Will they do it?

In December 2005 the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) adopted a resolution to assist governments, civil society and NGOs in "scaling up HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, with the aim of coming as close as possible

Vienna, 25 November 2009 (AUC/DCI) - The African Union Commission (AUC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) yesterday at the IAEA Headquarters in Vienna. The MOU defines the modalities of cooperation between the two organizations in support of Africa's efforts to eradicate trypanosomiasis. Trypanosomiasis is a severe disease, transmitted by tsetse flies, which affects both people and domestic animals. It occurs in 35 African countries where it causes death, debility, diminished productivity

As of November 23, 2009, 09H00 GMT, 29 countries have officially reported 15503 laboratory confirmed human cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 including 104 deaths. The breakdown of confirmed cases and deaths by country is given in the table below.

Country	Cumulative total		Newly confirmed From November 16 to 22
	Cases	Deaths

Responsables des projets et programmes, experts du développement agricole et rural et fonctionnaires du FIDA discutent de l'accès au marché et de l'intégration de l'agiculture et de l'élevage comme moyens d'améliorer la productivité agricole.

Bujumbura, le 16 novembre 2009. Le Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA) organise du 16 au 19 novembre 2009 à Bujumbura, Burundi, un atelier régional sur l'exécution de ses projets et des programmes en Afrique de l'Est et Australe. L'objectif de cet atelier est d'améliorer la mise en oeuvre des projets et projets financés par le FIDA.