The Government of the Republic of Zambia co-hosted with African Union an intergovernmental conference on social protection from 21 – 23rd March 2006 in Livingstone. The event brought together ministers and senior representatives from 13 African countries, (Ethiopia, Kenya Lesotho, Madagascar Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) together with Brazil, development partners, UN agencies and NGOs. The call to action issued as a result of this meeting is available through the link provided.

The second annual Certificate in Youth Participation for Africa's Development Processes will take place in Lusaka, Zambia from the 29th of May - the 9th of June 2006. This leadership training is being offered jointly by the African Youth Parliament (AYP), Young Women in Action (YWA) and the Coady International Institute.

Zambia's coffers are $150 million richer after having its debts slashed by G8 countries last year, but despite calls for the opening of the spending taps, the government has adopted a prudent approach to poverty alleviation. According to finance minister Ngandu Magande, about 95 percent of the US $7 billion external debt will disappear by the end of 2006, following Zambia's selection as one of 19 countries to qualify for debt cancellation from the G8 group of rich nations.

A large number of asylum seekers, who are flouting Zambia's laws by living outside settlement camps, pose a challenge to the UN's repatriation efforts. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that at least 30,000 of the more than 100,000 refugees in Zambia are living illegally outside of the five settlement camps in the country.

Three opposition parties with representation in Parliament have come together to form the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) with a view to float one Presidential candidate in this year's elections. The United Party for National Development (UPND), Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) and UNIP formed the alliance and would soon meet to elect a leader of the alliance through a vote before elections. But Heritage Party (HP) president Godfrey Miyanda has said his party would not force itself on the proposed opposition alliances if not invited while the MMD welcomed the formation of UDA as it signified the strength of the ruling party.

HIV/AIDS advocates and health officials in Zambia say efforts to treat HIV-positive people in the country over the past year should have focused more on the quality of treatment rather than the number of people receiving treatment, South Africa's Independent Online reports. Zambia in 2005 aimed to have 100,000 HIV-positive people receiving antiretroviral drugs by the end of the year, but the country was able to reach only about half its target in that time.

Zambian former president Frederick Chiluba Thursday went back into the dock on charges of stealing 507,000 dollars (426,000 euros) in state funds in a trial again hit by legal technicalities. Chiluba, who is charged with two other private businessmen, sat in a tiny magistrate's court in the capital while two state witnesses gave evidence in the protracted trial.

Zambia has revised upwards planned spending on new power stations and upgrades to meet increasing electricity demand at its vast copper mines, a senior industry official said. State power utility Zesco required $1.2 billion - up from an initial target of $720 million budget last year - and was in talks with Iran's Farab International and China's Sinohydro on construction of the 750 megawatt Kafue Gorge Lower project and the 120 MW Itezhi-Tezhi power project, the official said, reports Reuters.

On 14 February 2006, the state dismissed the charge of "defamation of the president" against "The Post" newspaper editor Fred M'membe. M'membe was originally charged in November 2005 and his trial was set to begin on 14 February. However, he was informed by the presiding magistrate, John Ndeketeya, that he was a free man because the state had decided not to proceed with the prosecution.

Angolan and Congolese refugees are deserting camps in Zambia to scavenge for food in villages after they were placed on half rations due to worsening food shortages, officials reported. The exodus occurred after the World Food Programme (WFP) said food shortages in the camps had become critical. Aid workers warn supplies will run out in April reports Reuters.

SNV in Zambia is contributing to poverty alleviation through strengthening of local governance processes and economic development based on sustainable use of natural resources. This occurs through facilitation of capacity building processes in local level institutions and organisations, primarily in the Western, Northwestern and Luapula provinces. The SNV Zambian programme also focuses on gender and HIV/AIDS issues. Interested candidates should email [email protected].

Former Zambian President Frederick Chiluba has asked the African Union to intervene to halt criminal charges filed by Zambia in the United Kingdom. Chiluba contends that as a member of the AU, Zambia is bound by an agreement that all former African heads of state facing charges stemming from their time in office will be tried in their home countries. Arrested in 2002, Chiluba is currently on trial in Zambia on charges of corruption and theft of public funds, but frustrated with the lack of progress in the trial, the government sanctioned legal proceedings against Chiluba in 2004 on charges that he defrauded the government by funneling nearly $35 million in funds acquired through an arms deal to private bank accounts in London, reports The Jurist.

The UAB-affiliated Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) is accepting applications for our internship program, termed "HIVCorps." Now in its 3rd year, the HIVCorps program sponsors volunteers in HIV prevention, treatment, and research activities in Lusaka, Zambia. Expatriate volunteers - usually pre-medical / medical students, or recent MPH graduates - are paired with Zambian counterparts of similar training and experience and work under a UAB-CIDRZ faculty mentor. This is a one year commitment and we expect to accept 4-6 expatriate volunteers (and a similar number of Zambian volunteers) for the 2006-7 year.

The Zambian media has largely ignored the drought that has left more than a million rural Zambians in need of food aid, according to report on irinnews.com. Despite President Levy Mwanawasa's declaration of a national food crisis last year, when harvests failed in parts of southern, eastern and northern Zambia, the national broadcaster, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), has not carried any reports on the drought or the starvation it has caused.

London's Guardian on Saturday examined the spread of HIV in the region surrounding northern Zambia's Lake Mweru, which in recent years has seen an influx of young men who have migrated to the region to start fishing. Although the area was sparsely populated 30 years ago, the closure of Zambian copper mines, increasing poverty and conflict in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo have contributed to the region's recent population growth.

A precedent setting ruling by a local court in Zambia has given women married under customary law the right to a share of marital property in the event of a divorce or death of the husband.Zambia has a dual legal system, and although statutory law takes precedence over customary law, the fact that many people live in rural and traditional settings has given customary law primacy in large parts of the country.

Despite urgent appeals for international aid by both the government of Zambia and WFP in December 2005, no new donations have been received and refugees in Zambia have been on half-rations since 1 January 2006. "We have a refugee caseload of up to 82,000 people and we have not received any new contributions since July 2005, so it's getting a bit difficult. The food stocks we do have will run out by the end of March. We need $8.5 million to provide food to refugees until the end of December this year," WFP spokeswoman Jo Woods told IRIN.

A precedent setting ruling earlier this month by a local court in Zambia has given women married under customary law the right to a share of marital property in the event of a divorce or death of the husband. Previously, a woman married under customary law would not be entitled to a share of property, irrespective of whether she had contributed to its acquisition.

Kalomo district, some 400 kilometres South of Lusaka, is a hub of hospitality business in the area. The tourist capital Livingstone about 120 Kilometres away and other places of tourist interest makes it a place of tourist attraction. But inadequate infrastructure, especially the bad road conditions, no electricity and lack of communication facilities discourage people from stopping by. To address these issues, Bwacha women ICT club based in the centre of Kalomo town, thought of marketing produce of the local area using the internet in order to make ends meet.

More Zambian girls are attending school after government interventions such as allowing teenage mothers back to school and waiving fees and uniforms. Re-admission in many schools has doubled since the Ministry of Education introduced the re-entry policy prohibiting the expulsion of pregnant girls in 1997, according to official statistics. The policy requires girls to go back to school not later than a year after giving birth, while other interventions have also increased the enrolment rate.