Zimbabwe lifts ban on aid agencies - state media
Zimbabwe has lifted a ban on charities involved in food distribution and AIDS treatment, state media said Wednesday, 18 June 2008, ahead of next week's tense presidential run-off.
The state-run Herald cited the government's acting welfare secretary as saying a recently imposed ban on all aid work would not prevent AIDS patients from "accessing drugs and therapeutic feeding from clinics and hospitals".
Food programmes would also be allowed to continue since they do not "entail community mobilisation by NGOs," Sydney Mhishi said.
NGOs provide food and medicines to children and clinics, mostly in rural areas.
The announcement of the lifting of the ban comes a day after Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe met with a top UN official visiting the country to evaluate the political situation ahead of the run-off.
