**Harare - Persistent hunger and under-nutrition continue to be major obstacles to development and economic growth in Zimbabwe, especially among the poor. A third of Zimbabwe’s children between six months and five years are short for their age and hence more prone to disease. The United Nations, through its specialist agencies- WFP, UNICEF, WHO and FAO - has supported the development of the Food and Nutrition Security Policy for Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwean government is worried by the high malnutrition-related death rate which currently accounts for 25 percent of deaths among children under the age of five, said President Robert Mugabe at the launch of The Zimbabwe Food and Nutrition Security Policy in Harare yesterday.

HARARE — President Robert Mugabe today launched Zimbabwe’s food and nutrition security policy calling on the international community to help fund the country’s agricultural sector to improve the food situation in the country.

Officiating at the launch of the country’s food and nutrition security plan in Harare, President Mugabe urged international development partners to support Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector to improve productivity and promote self-reliance.

The country’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation has received a $1 million cash injection from Japan, a government official has revealed.

“Despite the natural disasters that have bedevilled Japan in recent years, the country has become our development partner in the EPI interventions. Last year they donated $4, 8 million and this year they have added another $1 million to the pot,” the Ministry of Health EPI Manager, Mary Kamupota, said.

Heavy rains continued for a second week across previously dry areas in western Ethiopia and South Sudan.

1) Poorly distributed and significantly below average seasonal rainfall has resulted in deteriorating ground conditions since January. This has negatively impacted crops and livestock throughout many parts of southern Angola and northern Namibia.

Zimbabwe is an example of political commitment and progress in the AIDS response. Although it is one of the countries most affected by the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, with an adult HIV prevalence of 15%, the country has achieved and sustains universal coverage of treatment to prevent mother-to-child-transmission of HIV (93%) and adult antiretroviral therapy (ART) with 95% of adult Zimbabweans eligible for HIV treatment receiving it.

HIGHLIGHTS

 The region is exposed to a range of environmental and social pressures.

 47 defined international humanitarian emergencies were identified between 2000 and 2012.

 The results highlight the short recurrence intervals for major shocks and the annual co-occurrence of multiple shocks.

 The research signals a transition from conditions of armed conflict seen in the 1980s and 1990s to social conflicts, often in urban areas, particularly in national capitals.

RAY NDLOVU

As an editor and a reporter are charged, journalists are bracing for more arrests ahead of elections.

The arrest of the editor and chief reporter of the Zimbabwe Independent on Tuesday, four days after Zimbabwe marked World Press Freedom Day, has ignited fears of the onset of a wider crackdown against journalists as the country heads towards a high-stakes ­election.

05/09/2013 16:08 GMT

HARARE, May 09, 2013 (AFP) - Zimbabwe's lower house of parliament on Thursday approved a draft constitution that was overwhelmingly endorsed in a March referendum, paving the way for new elections.

"The number of affirmative votes, 156 is not less than two-thirds of the total members of the house," said parliament speaker Lovemore Moyo in the capital Harare.

All the lawmakers present voted in favour of the draft which needed the assent of two-thirds. The rest of the 210-member chamber were absent or have passed away.