Despite the giant strides made in recent years to provide effective drug treatments to combat HIV and AIDS, there's still a long way to go. Particularly in Africa, where the virus has hit hardest and thousands continue to die every year. One of the biggest problems in tackling the epidemic is the reluctance of those carrying the virus to come forward for testing. But an extraordinary group of women in Zimbabwe has found a new way to beat the stigma of HIV by forming a womens soccer league where all the players are HIV positive.

 

Thirty years ago today, Robert Mugabe was elected as Zimbabwe’s first Black Prime Minister, and the country erupted in celebration. But in the interem, many have regretted his era of rule, which has been sometimes characterized by executive power-grabbing and economic disaster.

The Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tvangirai, is in Washington this week to meet with President Obama. He’s here to garner support for Zimbabwe’s power-sharing “Unity” government. What's the real state of the country, politically and economically? The BBC Mike Thomson has just returned from an undercover reporting trip to the country, and joins The Takeaway to talk about Zimbabwe's troubles, and the orphans who suffer the price.

Fifteen years ago, Nelson Mandela swept to an historic victory to become the first black President of South Africa. That victory was the start of the dominance of Mandela's African National Congress Party. A decade and a half later, the African National Congress Party's candidate, Jacob Zuma, is again poised to reign supreme. Today is the last day of campaigning before South Africans head to the polls on Wednesday.

To help us understand what Zuma's presumed leadership will mean for South Africa and what the U.S. will be watching in this election, The Takeaway talks to Dan Simpson. Simpson is currently an editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Before taking the reigns at the paper, he was Director of Southern African Affairs in the State Department in the 1980s and has been U.S. Ambassador to several African countries.

Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change was sworn into office as Zimbabwe's Prime Minister by his long-time rival President Robert Mugabe. Tsvangirai's swearing in caps nearly a year of turmoil that began in March 2008, when he won a first-round presidential vote that was greeted with nationwide violence, mostly against his supporters. For more we are joined by the BBC's Jonah Fisher in South Africa.

Last September, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU PF party and the opposition MDC party signed a power sharing agreement. However, they have been unable to agree on how to form their government leaving the country without effective leadership. In an effort to resolve the ongoing political deadlock in Zimbabwe, heads of state from southern African nations are holding a summit meeting in Pretoria, South Africa. For more on this we are joined from South Africa by BBC Correspondent Jonah Fisher.

Watch a BBC report on the situation in Southern Africa: