Action by CHurches Together (ACT)
Update - Angola - 1/2002
Relief and Rehabilitation - AFAO-21
Geneva, 20 June  2002


Although celebrated as a remarkable breakthrough after 27 years of war,
the cease-fire brought by The Lusaka Protocol will not be able to
immediately heal the wounds of this war-torn country.  The wounds are so
deep that they place Angola in the category of one of the countries 'with
the worst humanitarian situation in the world'. According to UNICEF
statistics, one Angolan child dies every three minutes.  Although the
international community in Angola is extremely proactive, the fact that
there are over four million vulnerable persons in need of assistance
remains a daunting challenge.

Taking into consideration the alarming facts coming from the field, ACT
International has alerted its members to the need for a series of
adjustments to be made to the current appeal in order to address the new
situation.

In anticipation of a massive movement of people within the country and
from outside, ACT members Lutheran World Federation/World Service (LWF/WS)
and The Igreja Evangelica Reformada de Angola (IERA) are in the process of
revising their proposed action under the AFAO-11 Appeal.

LWF/WS will continue to assist the population in Moxico province (the
epicenter of the last phase of the Angolan war). This province has
approximately 90,000 IDPs of whom LWF/WS caters for some 50,000. LWF/WS
will focus on a new challenge for both the local government and the
international community by supporting the return of the IDPs and refugees
to their original homes.  LWF/WS will also endeavor to support a solid
peace process, initially by assisting the families of demobilized soldiers
and at the same time supporting the many vulnerable who remain displaced.
The LWF/WS financial target will thus be increased to $3 million.

IERA will increase the number of targetted beneficiaries from the original
9,000 to 10,000. Humanitarian assistance will be provided to the
vulnerable in Uige, Malange and Kwanza-Sul provinces. In addition to the
objectives of the first appeal, IERA will provide an increased number of
food and non-food items, as well as training on various topics (peace and
reconciliation, WatSan, sewing for women), health services to the families
of the demobilized soldiers, distribution of tools and agricultural seeds,
school rehabilitation etc. IERA's overall financial target will see only a
minor increase.

The revised ACT appeal for Angola AFAO-21 is expected to be issued in the
course of the coming week.

Having recognized an immediate need to strengthen response to the
situation, ACT CO has requested LWF/WS to take on a short-term role as ACT
Lead Coordinating member, aimed at establishing an ACT Forum in Angola. In
addition to this, ACT CO has assigned an ACT Communicator from ACT-CAT
roster to a 2-3 week field mission to help improve information flow.

We note with great concern that the current appeal for Angola raised only
23% against its overall target. We appeal to the ACT alliance for their
commitment to assisting the vulnerable Angolan population and to all our
funding members for their financial support to this very needy cause.

Thank you for your attention.

For further information please contact:

ACT Director, Thor-Arne Prois (phone ++41 22 791 6033 or mobile phone ++
41 79 203 6055)
or
ACT Appeals Officer, Leila Dzaferovic (phone ++ 41 22 791 6710 or mobile
phone ++ 41 79 757 9206)


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Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and
their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency
response.  The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
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   Ecumenical Centre                          Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33
   150, route de Ferney                         Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06
   P.O. Box 2100                             E-Mail: act@wcc-coe.org
   1211 Geneva 2                              Telex: 415 730 OIK CH
   Switzerland                                 http://www.act-intl.org


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