×

Our award-winning reporting has moved

Context provides news and analysis on three of the world’s most critical issues:

climate change, the impact of technology on society, and inclusive economies.

DRC: ?Banana Aids? threatens social fabric on Idjwi island

by IRIN | IRIN
Monday, 28 May 2012 00:22 GMT

* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

More than half of mountainous South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is infected by banana xanthomonas wilt (BXW), often referred to by farmers as ?Banana AIDS?. The incurable disease is wiping out bananas and plantains grown at high altitudes and spreads easily. IRIN looked at the disease and how people are being affected on the island of Idjwi (population 230,000) in Lake Kivu.

-->