Zimbabwe Budgets $6.8 T for Education

The Zimbabwe Herald reports that Zimbabwe has budgeted $6.8 trillion dollars for education in 2005, which is about half of what they wanted. By way of comparison, their defense spending was $2.3 trillion.

Zimbabwe has achieved great gains in developing human capital through education since their 1980 independence, but have since also been suffering from brain drain and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

December 1 - World AIDS Day

On a side-note, tomorrow (December 1) is World AIDS Day. This year the focus is on women, girls, and HIV and AIDS. UNAIDS has also released the AIDS Epidemic Update for 2004.

AusAid Scholarship to Laotian Students

SMH reports on Australia's AusAid scholarship to Laotian students. This year, Australia offered 40 scholarships to study in Australia, and 64 scholarships to study at the National University of Laos. "For development [to happen], there are three steps: education, education, education."