Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done. According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2007 some 2.5 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35. Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.

Kenyan Government Cut Maize Flour Price

Kenya's government has been urged to cut maize costs even more, after announcing a drastic reduction in the price of the staple food as was reported by BBC and other sections of the press. A 2-kg bag of maize was selling at 120 shillings (£1; $1.50) last week - up from some 48 shillings last year. The authorities have agreed with millers a bag should now sell for between 65 and 72 shillings. But a senior governing coalition party member warned that the reductions were not enough. The government has said low-income consumers will be able to buy packets of government-branded flour at 52 shillings per packet under a new pricing system, which is due to come into force over the next five to 10 days. Prices have been slashed in response to public anxiety over the rising cost of the food, amid shortages from post-election violence earlier this year.

Nigeria President Proposes $24 billion 2009 Budget

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua proposed a 2.87 trillion naira budget for 2009 on Tuesday; a reduction of around 13 percent on approved spending for this year but above what has actually been released. According to Reuters, the 2009 draft budget, which can be amended by legislators, assumed a crude oil benchmark price of $45, down from $59 in 2008. Oil production was forecast at 2.3 million barrels per day next year, down from 2.45 million bpd in the 2008 budget.

Zimbabwe: Water Woes Persist

 According to the HERALD, water woes persisted in Harare yesterday as almost all the city's suburbs, industrial areas and the central business district had no supplies. This forced businesses and Government institutions to send workers back home by lunchtime while others remained with critical staff only. Residents criss-crossed the city in search of water while some Good Samaritans with boreholes at their residences and institutions such as schools, sports clubs, clinics and business came to the rescue of the residents by allowing them to draw supplies from their premises. Some residents were also observed collecting water from unprotected sources despite the cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 390 lives since August.
Ghana: Election Focuses on Issues, Not Personalities
On Sunday, December 7, the people of Ghana will go to the polls to elect a new President and National Assembly. This will be the second transfer of power between presidents through the democratic process and the fifth national election held since Ghana ended military rule in 1992. Meanwhile, in the past eight years, Ghana has become one of Africa's success stories. Buoyed by good governance and stable economic policies, the country has averaged annual growth of more than five percent, invested in landmark programs in education and healthcare, achieved a sovereign credit rating of B+ and seen double-digit increases in inward and foreign direct investment. Added to this is the promise of a significant source of new revenue through the recent discovery of oil and gas offshore: the find is considered to be the most significant in more than a decade, potentially rivaling Nigeria and Angola's reserves.