Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called on the UN Commission on Human Rights to continue to strengthen its human rights monitoring presence in Sudan, as the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva debates the human rights situation in "any part of the world". "The positive changes in Sudan have taken place largely as a result of international pressure to make meaningful moves to end human rights abuses," the two international human rights organisations said.

What is the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP)? How does the PRSP relate to WB and IMF lending? Do PRSP countries still get structural adjustment loans? What is the connection with the HIPC debt relief initiative? Are PRSPs really nationally owned? What does ownership mean? Do PRSPs do away with conditionality? Do PRSPs depart from the Washington Consensus in the choice of policies? Find out more about PRSP's by delving into this rough guide.

East London mum Sabrina Burton, 45, at the weekend became the first person in the Eastern Cape to take a 10 000 foot "jump for charity". Burton raised over R3000 for the South African Guide Dogs Association. Her "reward" was a tandem 10 000 foot leap of faith out of a plane with Jump for Charity (JFC) jump master Ralph Ridge.

Sweden on Friday announced it was giving nearly N$3 million to the Forum For the Future (FFF), a non-governmental organisation.

Children are being abducted in record numbers in northern Uganda by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Human Rights Watch says in a new report. The children are subjected to brutal treatment as soldiers, laborers and sexual slaves. Since June of 2002, an estimated 5,000 children have been abducted-a striking increase from 2001, when fewer than 100 children were abducted.

The international NGO Medecines Sans Frontieres (MSF) expressed concern on Thursday that some EU member states are trying to water down proposals by the EC that would allow developing countries to buy essential drugs at prices far below the normal market rate. The EC proposed in October 2002 a price regulation scheme under which pharmaceutical companies would reduce their prices for essential medicines by at least 80 percent compared with the average prices in countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The reduction would enable developing countries - most of which are African - buy drugs at affordable prices to fight diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS, whose present cost is often prohibitive for them.

UNICEF has expressed distress at the situation of children in northeastern Cote d'Ivoire, following a recent mission which showed that the area's children had paid a heavy toll in health and education as a result of the Ivorian conflict.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) through the collaborative efforts of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) has boosted the country's athletes with a sum of $75,000 towards the preparation for All African Games in October.

Terrifying incidents at schools around the country has resulted in a call for staff to be allowed to carry guns at school. A recent incident that has highlighted the vulnerability of educators involves school principal Lucy Lushaba (47) who was shot dead over the festive season.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has issued a statement mourning the death of Kloueu Gonzreu, 51, a regional correspondent for the state-run news wire service Agence Ivoirienne de Presse. According to several local reports, Gonzreu's body was found and identified on Wednesday, March 19, by a team from the Red Cross, where the journalist also worked in his spare time.

The LandNet West Africa network is pleased to announce its forthcoming bilingual workshop in Lome (Togo) on April 25 - 26 2003. This meeting will be focused on the following themes: the land issues in the sub-region; the World Bank land policy; the PRSPs and the land tenure challenges with a focus on some countries experiences; and the means for correctly addressing land problems within the PRSP scheme.

This seminar aims to stimulate analytical debate of the United States invasion of Iraq and the impact it is likely to have on Africa. The seminar will examine this topic from a broad social justice perspective and will address questions of a possible depletion of aid and trade in Africa, and the impact of changing global power relations.

Concern Universal (CU) requires a Project Co-ordinator to ensure the effective management and implementation of its conflict prevention and enterprise development programme.

The judiciary component supports social development based on the rule of law and respect for human rights. UNDP intends to recruit a Technical Advisor for a period of 12 months.

The Law Enforcement component aims to strengthen the establishment and functional capacities of both basic and specialized policing capabilities, enabling the civilian police to contribute more effectively to public security. The component will promote better public relations between the authorities and the Somali population. UNDP intends to recruit a Law Enforcement expert for 3 months.

Deputy Director-General for Programs, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Director of Corporate Services

The mission of The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), based in Nairobi, Kenya, is to conduct innovative research and development on agroforestry, strengthen the capacity of our partners, enhance worldwide recognition of the human and environmental benefits of agroforestry, and provide scientific leadership in the field of integrated natural resource management. We are one of sixteen food and environmental research organisations in the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), whose goals are to help achieve food security, poverty reduction, and a sustainable environment. Our regional programmes are active in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, with staff based in 17 countries. The annual budget is approximately $24 million.

In a bid to better combat child abuse, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has provided the Swazi police with closed-circuit television systems to record witness testimonies to help in abuse cases. The 31 closed-circuit systems and video recorders donated by UNICEF last week were expected to help the police build solid evidence for court cases, and could serve as a deterrent against abuse.

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." This is the new slogan which the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) government has adopted in order to popularise its ambitious free primary education programme (FPE) policy. The free and compulsory primary education for Kenyan children, which was one of the key pre-election promises which brought NARC to power in December 2002, has proved not only to be expensive, but also difficult to implement.

The Kenyan government has devoted the largest share of its budget to expanding education since independence. So are the large amounts of resources invested in education by government and parents justified by the returns yielded to the individual and society? The authors claim that studies to date have so far been inconclusive.

Almost one third of children in less-developed countries have malnutrition. A report published by the United Nations Children's Fund reveals new differences in prevalence rates of malnutrition, with almost half of all children in south Asia being malnourished, compared with less than one third in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, food production and availability per head are about the same in sub-Saharan Africa, illustrating the weakness of the argument that malnutrition is caused by lack of food alone.