The African Development Bank and the African Development Fund jointly approved on Wednesday a mechanism designed to help the Democratic Republic of the Congo clear arrears of US $800 million owed them. The bank reported that the sum represented 60 percent of the total arrears the Congo owed both bodies.

A North West primary school was given a construction site to rebuild its school on Wednesday, at a soil turning ceremony in Letlhabile township near Brits. Uthingo yielded to the call by former President Nelson Mandela to construct a school for the Osaletseng Primary School to the tune of R2.5 million.

McKnight Foundation has awarded 185 grants totaling $26.5 million during the second quarter, including $12.6 million for children, families, and communities; $5.8 million for the arts; $4 million for crop research; $3 million for the environment; and $1.1 million for international programs.

A new pro-active approach to funding poverty relief and community development projects will be unveiled by the National Development Agency (NDA) at a roadshow in Umtata. The roadshow aims to brief local government, NGOs and community organisations on the NDA's new approach that seeks to pro-actively fund community projects instead of waiting for applications.

The UN has set aside US $67,600 for a two-year project to distribute seeds directly to 1,800 people, and indirectly to the entire population of the Ikela area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's northern Equateur Province, after completion of a pilot phase, Noel Tsekouras, an official of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told IRIN on Tuesday.

Uganda has been selected as one of the 12 countries to benefit from grants from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to fight HIV/AIDS.

Ten-year-old Tanzanian children are involved in mining activities including the washing of rocks and the collecting and carrying of crushed rock that exposes them to serious health risks, according to new research.

The postholder will develop and manage CIIR’s Southern Africa programme with an operational focus on Namibia and Zimbabwe but with a wider sub-regional outlook. You will increase the programmes effectiveness and impact through advocacy and skillsharing in three prioritised areas: HIV/AIDS, Building Just Societies and Peace and Conflict. You will work constructively with local partner organisations and with marginalised groups, commercial farm workers and the San people.

The International Rescue Committee seeks a SARC Program Manager for its Sierra Leone Program. The SARC (Sexual Assault Referral Center) project is an innovative addition to IRC's SGBV program in Sierra Leone. The purpose of the SARC will be to provide consistent, appropriate, timely and accessible medical and psychosocial services to survivors and raise awareness of gender based violence and legislative and community action to combat it.

The Provincial Coordinator will oversee the Health Program. This will include but is not limited to: Establish and maintain a regular system of project monitoring and evaluation; Spend time in the field monitoring the implementation of all projects; Conduct ongoing assessment and evaluation of program needs and consult with Country Director regarding appropriate adjustments in program design or implementation strategies; Assist the Kinshasa office in strategic planning and program design; Ensure the timely submission of technical and activities reports from partners and from field personnel; Keep accurate and organized records; Oversee management of local staff including benefits and adherence to the local staff personnel policy manual.

IRC is currently implementing an umbrella grant project that provides grants to local NGOs to implement humanitarian interventions in the sectors of health, water, sanitation, food security, etc. to meet emergency needs for the population of South Kivu.

Oxfam GB are looking to recruit a Project Manager who will review the current public health situation of IDPs & develop a proposal. The proposal is expected to address the public health concerns of IDPs as well as build the capacity of local and national governments. This programme will fit into the wider national level capacity enhancment plan in emergency preparedness & response.

This is a challenging position where the postholder will be responsible for ensuring the implementation of SC UK's education project in 18 rural schools in the Belet Weyne district in Hiran, Somalia. The focus of the project is to improve the access and quality of primary education for children in rural Belet Weyne, and this will be achieved through increasing and providing access to appropriate, participatory and affordable primary education to boys and girls of mixed abilities and social backgrounds.

The Open Society Institute (OSI) is a private operating and grantmaking foundation that develops and implements a range of programs in civil society, education, media, public health and human and women's rights, as well as social, legal, and economic reform. The Senior Legal Officer will work in cooperation with the International Legal Program's offices in New York and Budapest, OSI's national foundation in South Africa (OSF-SA), and its regional foundations in Southern and West Africa (OSISA and OSIWA).

A Daily News reporter, Chris Gande, was ejected from a courtroom during court proceedings by a prison official, The Daily News reported on 28 June. Gande, who is based in the city of Bulawayo, was covering court proceedings in which two prison officials are being charged with contempt of court for defying court orders to release two prisoners who had been granted bail. A reporter from the government-controlled Chronicle was, however, allowed to cover the case.

The Canadian government has announced significant increases in its support for a range of research activities in Africa, particular those related to the search for an effective vaccine against HIV/AIDS, and for agricultural research. Overall, the country plans to increase its spending on HIV/AIDS in Africa four-fold. It will also double its support for Africa-related agricultural research by investing an extra Can$40 million (US$26 million) over three years in programmes carried out through the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

The Government will recruit an additional 5,000 fresh graduates for secondary schools by September this year, it has been announced. And nearly 2,500 teachers listed for retirement will be eased out of the profession in the next two months, the Teachers' Service Commission said. The Government also told teachers to seek employment in neighbouring countries where they are in demand.

Primary school feeding schemes are intended to give poor children an incentive to attend school - and not to compensate for the lack of nutrition at home, argues Lenore Dunnett, deputy director for the Western Cape's Nutrition Programme. But for many under-privileged children, the food they receive through such schemes is all they can expect to get to eat on any given day.

The training of teachers in the six public universities could change drastically if the institutions adopt proposals made by educationists to review their curriculum. During the Strengthening of Science and Mathematics in Secondary Schools (Smasse) conference held in Nairobi last week, participants suggested that teaching practice (TP) be extended to cover a full academic year. This means that undergraduate students in education courses should take at least five years unlike the case now where they, like others studying other courses, take four years.

Children within the East African Community (EAC) will soon be allowed to attend primary schools in any of the three countries without discrimination. The EAC assembly nominated MP, Mr Mohamed Zubedi, has said the programme being handled by a special committee with members from EAC will be effective in few years' time. He said the move is aimed at harmonising the education systems among the three East African nations.