Every time a parent gets ill or dies of HIV/AIDS, children become grossly vulnerable to hosts of physical, emotional and societal dangers.In the wake of today's AIDS crisis in Africa, at least 14 million orphans have been left grappling with the dangers associated with the disease. That number, according to a survey, is expected to double if nothing is done.

A public meeting entitled “CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES on NEPAD - a new partnership for Africa's development?” will be held on 8 July from 5:30 to 6.45 at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. [near Russell Square, on Thornhaugh Street, London WC1] Nearest Underground: Goodge Street [ Northern Line] or Russell Square [Piccadilly Line]. It will take place in the Assembly Hall - Room G2 - near the reception in the Main Building of SOAS. Organised by the Africa Book Centre with grateful thanks to the African Studies Association of the UK, guest speaker will be Patrick Bond, editor of the new book 'FANON'S WARNING: A Civil Society Reader on the New Partnership for Africa's Development'

If you are unable to attend the upcoming XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, you can sign up to receive a daily email with updates on the latest conference coverage provided on kaisernetwork.org

Canada will contribute CAD $34.2 million (US $22 million) in humanitarian aid to Southern Africa, a statement said last Friday.

A US $30-million poverty alleviation project aimed at improving agricultural output in areas near Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, was launched at the weekend by the African Development Bank (ADB) and the Burkinabe government.

Like most children in her village, Gechawa Gandesha laughs when she is asked why she will not go on to senior school. "It would take me almost a week to walk there," said the 14-year-old, who already walks more than four kilometres to her current school. Gechawa is at the top of her primary class, and longs to become a doctor. Her headmaster says she is more than capable of achieving that. But she lives in one of the remotest corners of Ethiopia, and schools are few and far between.

Mango has grown rapidly over the last two and a half years. Maintaining a tight focus on strengthening the financial management of NGOs, we deliver a range of complementary services, including: training, placing financial staff, publishing capacity building materials and consultancy. Through our practical approach and high professional standards we are recognised as having made financial management accessible to NGOs around the world. We are recruiting a Deputy Director: Operations to play a major role in the development of the organisation. We are looking for someone with considerable energy, initiative and ability to join our small and enthusiastic team. The successful candidate will have practical field experience of working with NGOs and a heart-felt commitment to improving standards of financial management in the sector.

Support management of the in-country HIV/AIDS workplace prevention and education programme, under an umbrella initiative called SMARTWork [Strategically Managing AIDS Responses Together]. Experience in programme design, and needs assessment research, for technical assistance and training.

Collaborates with local organisations in Africa, the US, and elsewhere, as well as with consultants, advisors, and interns. Commitment to women's health and rights, including access to safe abortion information and services. Ability to travel to and work effectively in Africa (25-35% time).

World Neighbors seeks an East Africa Area Representative. Responsibilities include program development, strategic planning, budgeting, evaluation, reporting, administration and fund-raising. Travel 30-40% of the time. Position supports WN activities in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.

This is the first call for applicants for Adilisha distance learning courses for human rights and advocacy organisations in southern Africa. Fahamu, in association with the Department for Continuing Education at the University of Oxford, will be offering courses specifically designed to meet the needs of human rights and advocacy organisations in southern Africa. Developed together with international and regional experts, seven courses will be run in the course of the next 12 months.

This distance learning course, taking place between 23 September and 15 December, provides participants practical guidance on how to monitor human rights and is specifically a generic pre-deployment course for human rights monitors.

This field guide is a practical, hands-on guide for use by social scientists, public health specialists, and research teams interested in using qualitative methods to study sexual and reproductive health.

Twelve prisoners were hung in Sudan in the closing days of May and a further 15 prisoners have been sentenced to death and are awaiting execution, according to the World Organisation Against Torture, whose international secretariat urgently requests those opposed to the death penalty to write to the Sudanese authorities and protest against the killings.

Only three countries in sub Saharan Africa - South Africa, Namibia and Botswana - provide non contributory social pensions for their elderly citizens. In all three countries, the social pension injects substantial volumes of cash into poor households and communities. It has stimulated trade and marketing infrastructure, helped stabilise rural food supplies, and reduced vulnerability by providing a 'safety net' against livelihood shocks such as drought.

There has been much talk of an ageing crisis in Europe, but the real crisis is in Africa. A combination of high fertility, rising longevity, civil war and HIV/AIDS lies behind a unique transformation of the demographic structure in which, unlike any other regions in the world, falling life expectancy at birth is associated with rising life expectancy at later ages.

Following discussions at the 25th meeting of ECCHRD, participants representing European based human rights NGOs and IGOs discussed the possibilities of embracing XML as a standard for the exchange of data on human rights, in particular of data with regard to violations of human rights, within the human rights community.

The number of children orphaned byAIDS has increased from 1.7 million in 2000 to 2 million this year despite a decline in the rate of infection, the English daily Monitor reported on Monday.

A Nigerian NGO leading the fight against women trafficking and child labour, said 242 Nigerian children were repatriated from Gabon between January 2000 and June 2001, the local press reported last Thursday.

Fraud and corruption cases are on the increase in East Africa, threatening to undo economic gains made by the region, says a new report.