Training workshops in Reporting on Poverty, Food Security and Social Protection have been held in Zambia, Tanzania, Botswana and Malawi. The workshops were organised by FrayIntermedia, and sponsored by the Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme (RHVP), with funding from UKAid.

FrayIntermedia and RHVP offered a prize for the best article or broadcast report produced and published within one month of each workshop. So far, prizes have been awarded for Zambia and Tanzania.

In October the issue of hunger usually receives a lot of attention, since World Food Day falls on October 16th. This year was no exception and there were many media reports highlighting the fact that over 1 billion people are going hungry in 2009, as result of an ongoing food crisis, as well as the global economic crunch.

As African countries look into various forms of social protection, one of the key debates revolves around the issue of targeting – who should benefit from cash transfers or other forms of support? A debate has arisen between two positions – those who believe in poverty targeting and those who favour categorical targeting.

Poverty targeting means that programmes should attempt to identify the poorest and most deprived members of society, and provide benefits only to them.

Fertiliser subsidies have received a lot of attention, and praise for success in combating food shortages in Africa. The most notable case is that of Malawi, which introduced a fertiliser subsidy in 2005. In late 2007, the New York Times, for example, published an article hailing Malawi’s success in fighting famine.