Swaziland : the world's highest HIV infection rates at 42.6 percent

The Kingdom of Swaziland is a small, landlocked country in Southern Africa (one of the smallest on the continent), situated on the eastern slope of the Drakensberg mountains, embedded between South Africa in the west and Mozambique in the east. The country is named after the Swazi, a Bantu tribe. Due in part to a high rate of HIV infection, Swaziland has the world's lowest life expenctancy , 32.62 years.

Human remains and artifacts from more than 100,000 years ago have been found in Swaziland.

After the South African War South African War of 1899-1902 , Swaziland became a British protectorate. The country was eventually granted independence on September 6,1968 . Since then, Swaziland has seen a struggle between pro-democracy activists and the totalitarian monarchy.

The constitution that was adopted in 1968 was suspended in 1973 in a State of Emergency decree presumably still in force today, though the government claims that it has been dissolved. In 2001 King Mswati III appointed a committee to draft a new constitution. Drafts were released for comment in May 2003 and November 2004. However, they were strongly criticised by civil society organizations in Swaziland and human rights organisations elsewhere. In 2005, the constitution was put into effect though there is still much debate in the country about that issue.

The kingdom of Swaziland is one of the world's last remaining absolute monarchies.

The king, who is known as Ngweyama - "the lion" - often appears in public in traditional dress and has many wives.

King Mswati has shown no enthusiasm for sharing power, but banned opposition parties and trade unions have been vocal in their demands for greater democracy and limits on the king's power.

With peaceful change in neighbouring South Africa and Mozambique, Swaziland has been described as an island of dictatorship in a sea of democracy. Royalists have argued that democracy creates division, and that a monarch is a strong unifying force.

King Mswati III is often strongly criticized for living so lavishly in a nation that is afflicted by the world's highest HIV infection rates at 42.6 percent. His fleet of luxury cars, and the millions spent towards refurbishing his numerous wives' luxury mansions, are at odds with the approximately 34 percent of the population that stand unemployed, and nearly 70 percent of the population who live on less than a dollar a day. Swaziland is one of the poorest nations in the world, and has a very low HDI development score.

Swaziland offers a wide variety of landscapes, from the mountains along the Mozambican border to savannas in the east and rainforest in the northwest. Several rivers flow through the country, such as the Lusufu River. With 50,000 inhabitants, the capital, Mbabane, is the largest town in the country; other large towns include Manzini , Lobamba and Siteki .

Economy of Swaziland

Swaziland ranks among the more prosperous countries in Africa . Most of the high-level economic activity is in the hands of non-Africans, but ethnic Swazis are becoming more active. Small entrepreneurs are moving into middle management positions. 70% of Swazis live in rural areas and are being ravaged by drought and a resulting food crisis that threatens hundreds of thousands with hunger. The past few years have seen wavering economic growth, which has been exacerbated by the economy's inability to create new jobs at the same rate that new job seekers enter the market. This is due largely in part to the country's population growth rate that strains the natural heritage and the country's ability to provide adequate social services , such as health care and education. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and floods are persistent problems. In 2004 Swaziland acknowledged for the first time that it suffered an AIDS crisis, with 42.6% of the population infected with HIV . Prime Minister Themba Dlamini declared a humanitarian crisis due to the combined effect of drought and land degradation, increased poverty, and HIV/AIDS. The United Nations special envoy on AIDS , Stephen Lewis, said: “Swaziland stands alone with the world's highest rate of HIV infection after nearby Bostwana made headway against the deadly pandemic”.

Nearly 60% of Swazi territory is held by the Crown in the trust of the Swazi nation. The balance is privately owned, much of it by foreigners. The questions of land use and ownership remains a very sensitive one. For Swazis living on rural homesteads, the principal occupation is either subsistence farming or livestock herding. Culturally, cattle are important symbols of wealth and status, but they are being used increasingly for milk, meat and profit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swaziland

http://www.friendsofswaziland.org/

http://www.times.co.sz/

http://www.swaziaid.org/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1069035.stm