EAST AFRICA: October- December rains began on time but ended early in south- central Somalia, northeastern and southeastern Kenya, and in parts of southeastern Ethiopia, negatively affecting crop prospects and pasture in these areas. In south- central Soma lia, increased civil insecurity and rampant sea piracy also continue to exacerbate existing food insecurity through displacement, dis ruption of both commercial and humanitarian food imports, and restrictions on food access among already impoverished popula tions. Persistent civil insecurity and the associated

The effects of rising food prices are already being felt by consumers worldwide and Swaziland is no exception. Therefore, the food markets play an important role in household food security as changes in prices directly affects households with low purchasing power especially those households which spend a greater share of their income on food.

The overarching objective of this study is to provide an understanding of the impact of prevailing and future food prices on individual households in the urban areas of Swaziland while sub-objectives

MBABANE, 30 December 2008 (IRIN) - Swazi families have increasingly resorted to growing vegetables in their backyards and even making sour milk concoctions for sale as food prices continue to bite during the lean season.

"We are a people who know how to get along in hard times, and for us times have been hard for a long time," said Amos Thwala, who lives with his family of six on a little plot outside Swaziland's central commercial town of Manzini.

Prices of essential food items have risen 10-40 percent in 2008. This week, the Swazi media have also reported meat

Highlights of a new FAO report

- As the year draws to a close, FAO's latest estimates confirm that a new record high level of global cereal production was achieved in 2008, sufficient to cover the expected increase in utilization in 2008/09 and also allow for a moderate replenishment of world reserves.

- Most of the increase in production this year has been among the developed countries, with that in the developing countries rising just marginally. In the developing group, outputs rose somewhat more among the Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries, especially in

MANZINI, 1 December 2008 (IRIN) - A decline in the incidence of malaria in Swaziland is being attributed to a devastating drought in the country's malaria belt.

In recent years the government and international donors have embarked on a coordinated response to the mosquito-borne disease and there now is confident talk of making Swaziland malaria-free. Malarial eradication is defined as no new clinically confirmed cases.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a US-sponsored international public/private partnership, the

Friday 28th November 2008: On the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, international disaster relief charity ShelterBox will be helping families affected by HIV and AIDS in Swaziland. This deployment is part of ShelterBox's A Million in Africa project, through which the charity aims to help one million people across the African continent.

Two ShelterBox Response Teams (SRT) have travelled to Swaziland, southern Africa, to distribute aid to 800 vulnerable families and AIDS orphans.

In Swaziland, ShelterBox is working in

MBABANE, 20 November 2008 (IRIN) - November, often the rainiest month of the year in Swaziland, has left most of the country awash with flash floods; but in the eastern Lowveld, no rain has fallen, and the fear is of yet another drought year in which food aid will be needed.

"Are we cursed, the people living here? Not a drop has fallen, not one drop," said Amos Zwane, a smallholder farmer near Lavumisa in the Shiselweni region in the south. The area is nearing its second decade of poor rainfall.

But the government insists it can provide

Executive summary

The frequencies, complexity and magnitude of disasters in Southern Africa zone - such as drought, floods, hailstorms, cyclones and epidemics, HIV and AIDS in particular - as well as the socio-economic shocks, serve as triggers speeding up the plunge of extremely vulnerable households and communities over the edge of survival. Extreme weather conditions and climate change in some parts of the region severely influence the level of agricultural production. Other humanitarian consequences include increased

Author: Nadia McGill

Silver Spring, Maryland-In recent months, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and its partners have distributed nearly $270,000 worth of shoes, food and clothing to orphans, vulnerable children, and adults affected by the current food crisis and the HIV/AIDS pandemic plaguing the southern African nation of Swaziland.

ADRA distributed footwear to 8,000 people, a donation valued at $100,000 provided by Pittsburgh-based Brother's Brother Foundation, an international charity. A clothing distribution project worth