OCHA Situation Report
Angola
UN Bimonthly Information Bulletin
January - February 2005
23 March 2005


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

This report was written with the assistance and collaboration of the UN
Agencies in Angola

Overview

With a prevalence rate under 5%, Angola has a historic opportunity and a
responsibility to Southern Africa to tackle HIV/AIDS with determination.
The country could become part of a "Triangle of Hope" with Uganda in
Eastern Africa and Senegal in Western Africa, provided that immediate
actions are taken. According to the Secretary General's special envoy
for HIV/AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, who visited the country in
February, the Angolan government is committed to fighting the epidemic
but faces institutional framework weakness that hampers the operational
response. With the support of development partners, the Government must
put an emergency response strategy into practice without delay, while
the window of opportunity to stem the virus is still open.

The current transitional period in Angola is still characterized by high
levels of vulnerability of the population. Accumulated destruction and
lack of maintenance from years of conflict, lack of basic and essential
social services in many parts of the country and a rapid pace of returns
and resettlement have left communities overstretched and particularly
vulnerable to unexpected conditions. The focus must be to urgently deal
with extreme poverty and absolute lack of basic social services that
still prevail in rural and remote areas. To not address this issue at
this present time would undermine the prospect of success of the
longer-term development strategies. Thus, the Angolan Government has
taken the lead and set up the framework for reconstruction and the
longer-term development of the country through Poverty Reduction
Strategy Paper (PRSP) 2004-2008.

The United Nations will assist and support the Government in its
longer-term endeavour to achieving the Millennium Goals through a set of
planning mechanisms defined in the UN Development Assistance Framework
(UNDAF) for 2005-2008. Additionally, the Humanitarian Framework for
2005, presented by the Resident Coordinator at a meeting of the
Humanitarian Coordination Group on 3 February, will complement the UNDAF
by addressing residual humanitarian needs in return areas. These include
the lack of basic social services, lack of access, food vulnerability,
the threat of HIV/AIDS and human rights issues.

In this context, capacity building with Government partners is a key
element to ensure that the Angolan Government successfully assumes
responsibilities for these services. The UN and its partners have too
often been seen as "distributors" of humanitarian assistance and their
role must shift towards one of complementing partners focused on
capacity building projects. It is also important that UN agencies
reinforce coordination with partners and further develop joint
programmes. This is particularly true in the case of the reintegration
process, which continues to be characterized by poor conditions in
return areas, especially in rural and remote areas. More and better
coordination of cross cutting activities is necessary if the process is
to be successful. Indeed, the growing discontent observed among
returnees could undermine future repatriation operations as refugees are
increasingly wary of poor standards of social services and overall
conditions for their reintegration.

Sustainable Livelihood

Access

The rehabilitation of the road network and repair of bridges are
priorities for both assisting vulnerable populations and implementing
any development programme. If these elements of basic infrastructure do
not function with a minimum of efficiency, there is no way to transition
from emergency to development. More collaborative efforts of the kind
registered between demining NGOs and partners involved in reintegration
activities are needed.

For instance, on the M'banza Kongo-Cuimba-Maquela do Zombo road in Zaire
and Uige provinces, an important axis for onward movements of returnees,
demining activities undertaken by Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) allowed
WFP and INEA to build four metallic bridges and one culvert. The road
will reopen by June 2005, following the construction of two additional
small bridges by UNHCR. During 2005, WFP will focus its bridge
construction efforts on remaining inaccessible areas in the Central
Highlands and Moxico.  An additional 23 metallic and wooden bridges are
earmarked for rehabilitation during the year.

Yet, despite increased rehabilitation of roads and bridges, the rainy
season is still affecting access with up to 150,000 people cut off in
Kuando Kubango and over 500,000 constantly threatened by isolation in
Uige province. Floods in January and February have left over 1,000
families homeless and killed at least 15 people in Kuando Kubango and in
Benguela provinces.

Regarding de-mining operations, the Ministry of Planning (MINPLAN) and
UNDP concluded an agreement in January for the "Implementation of the
Ottawa Convention through the disposal of stockpiled anti-personnel
landmines" project. This two year project is co-financed by the Angolan
government, the European Commission, and UNDP and will be implemented by
the National Inter-Sectorial Commission for De-mining and Humanitarian
Assistance (CNIDAH) with UNDP technical assistance and special emphasis
on capacity building. In that respect, the resident Coordinator
reiterated that efforts from humanitarian partners should focus on
continuing the ongoing CNIDAH capacity building with the aim to
strengthen its coordination leadership and that agencies with
rehabilitation and reintegration plans should actively participate in
the CNIDAH coordination fora both at national and provincial levels.

Food Security

In 2005, the WFP's Angola Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation
(PRRO) -Support to Return and Resettlement - continues to be
significantly under funded. Even with reduced beneficiary numbers,
substantial reductions in Food for Work/Food for Assets activities, and
a scaled-backed school-feeding programme, the WFP still needs a further
USD 35 million to complete its activities through the end of 2005.

Results from WFP's limited 2004 School Feeding Programme (SFP)
implemented in Benguela and Huambo provinces demonstrated a significant
increase in school attendance and school year completion in WFP assisted
schools compared to non-assisted schools. For example, attendance rates
rose from 65% in February 2004 to about 90% in November in five
municipalities in Benguela.  In Ganda municipality (Benguela) alone, 95%
of the children who registered in February 2004 in WFP assisted primary
schools attended classes until the end of the year. By contrast, schools
that did not benefit from the programme only achieved a 45% completion
rate.  However, despite an initial planned target of 200,000 SFP
beneficiaries, the 2004 programme was hindered by funding shortfalls and
therefore had to be limited to just over 40,000 beneficiaries.

In light of these positive results WFP has extended the SFP to two
additional food vulnerable and food insecure provinces - Bie and Kuanza
Sul - where 40,000 and 20,000 beneficiaries are now being reached,
respectively.  By the end of March a total of approximately 100,000
school children are being reached through the SFP.

A mission from the WFP Office of Evaluation visited Angola throughout
February.  Mission findings highlighted the complexity of the recovery
phase compared to the relative straightforward emergency food
distributions and noted that sustainable achievements in food security
are far more difficult to reach than immediate relief.  A definite shift
towards recovery strategies is expected from about mid-2005, following
the main harvest.  While some relief caseloads will remain, mainly for
returnees repatriated in 2005, from 2006 they are expected to account
for less than 10% of all activities. School feeding is expected to grow
-representing up to 75% of WFP's activities, of which a sizeable share
is expected to be financed and implemented by the Government.  To
reinforce capacity building within the government, the Vulnerability
Assessment and Mapping (VAM) will gradually be transferred by WFP to the
Ministry of Agriculture (MINADER).


Repatriation/Reintegration

There are currently 132,000 refugees remaining in countries of asylum.
UNHCR announced plans to repatriate 53,000 refugees during 2005 with a
USD 10.7 million budget. Additionally, 15,000 persons are expected to
return on their own and receive assistance at reception centres on
arrival in Angola. 950 refugees have so far been repatriated by road
convoys. Full scale repatriation activities, including airlifts are due
to resume in May or June, at the end of the rainy season. In 2004, 58%
of the initial target of 90,000 was indeed repatriated due to a variety
of logistic difficulties, lack of access and lack of minimum conditions
for resettlement in return areas. Evidence of dissatisfaction of some
returnees regarding the conditions of their reintegration has emerged in
the past two months.

In Huambo province some returnee families have reportedly resorted to
selling their resettlement kits in order to buy food after they finished
their two-month WFP rations. Working as labourers in resident's
cultivated fields for very low wages is also a frequent coping strategy.
Interviews with returnee families point to a disappointment in the lack
of support for their reintegration. Some returnees are informing
relatives still in neighbouring countries not to return to Angola given
the current conditions.

"Go and See" visits by refugee leaders from Ngidinga, DRC to Beu, Angola
and from the Republic of Congo to Cabinda took place in February under
the auspice of the governments of Angola, DRC and the Republic of Congo.
In the case of Cabinda, the refugee leaders expressed concern, upon
their return, with the widespread presence of FAA military personnel in
the province.

Registrations for Angolan Voluntary repatriation in Botswana and Namibia
were lower than expected. In Namibia only 64 registered out of over
5,000 refugees. This could be the result of both an active
disinformation campaign by some Angolans who do not wish to be
repatriated and the negative feedback received from those already
repatriated. At a meeting on 15 February, held with the Office of the
President, the Angolan leadership and UNHCR, discussions led to a plan
for information dissemination through community leaders who have already
registered for repatriation.

To address the challenges presented by the reintegration process, more
coordination between partners is needed. In January a UNHCR consultant
was deployed for a period of three months to assist the Ministry of
Assistance of Social Reinsertion MINARS in formulating a coordinated and
sustainable reintegration strategy. This collaborative approach is
pivotal since the reintegration of returnees, demobilised and IDPs cuts
almost entirely across the spectrum of institutional and UN system
activities.

Social Sectors

Health

In January, UNDP signed an agreement with the Global Fund allowing
access to USD 28,4 million to develop malaria control activities over
two years. The programme aims at reducing the malaria burden by 25% by
2006 and 50% by 2010. Activities include a new therapeutic policy to
treat the disease, the use of long-lasting impregnated mosquito nets,
the presumptive treatment of pregnant women (TIP), the strengthening of
laboratories and the provision of institutional support to the Ministry
of Health. The project also includes the scale up of interventions on
basic sanitation and community mobilization to prevent malaria. On
average, Angola has reported 1.4 million of total malaria cases and more
than 40 thousand deaths among children per year.

As part of the ongoing efforts to increase capacity building and
sustainability within the national health system, WHO and UNFPA provided
a joint technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to implement a
six month project for the reintegration of sixty former UNITA health
staff into the National Health System, as well as provided reproductive
health kits and medicine. In addition, five pedagogic provincial
directors from Bengo, Uije, Namibe, Kwanza Norte and Benguela provinces
also benefited from this training so that similar initiatives could be
reproduced in their respective provinces.

Education

Despite efforts by the Ministry of Education to hire and train new
teachers -16,000 teachers with poor skills were trained in 14 provinces
in February- the lack of teachers remains problematic, particularly in
rural areas. The average number of pupils per classroom is 45 and in
some cases more than 60. Too often teachers are requested to manage
several classes simultaneously, hampering the quality of their work.
School infrastructures remain poor and insufficient for the increasing
educational demand of the Angolan population.

Gender

Although 2005 school enrolment is still ongoing, early data indicate a
significant gap between boys and girls enrolment, particularly in rural
areas. For instance in Kamanongue, Moxico province, girls account for
38% of total enrolments. Another important school related gender
disparity is the presence of female teachers. Still in Kamanongue, only
11 out of 161 teachers are women.

Despite the existence of the 1988 Family Law Code, customary laws that
generally neglect the protection of women's rights, in particularly
inheritance rights and when women and children are accused of
witchcraft, often take preference. Women are seldom able to defend
themselves or obtain legal counsel because of poor education and less
awareness of their rights. This violation of rights also extends to
women's bodily integrity as concluded in the 2001 Rapid Assessment
Critical Needs conducted by the UN.

Crucially, the Gender Joint Programme 2005-2008 includes the review and
reform of key laws and an awareness campaign about existing legal
frameworks. The programme was officially approved on 17 February by the
Ministry of Family and Women Promotion (MINFAMU), Rede Mulher, the
Angolan Women Organisation (OMA), potential donors and UN agencies. It
addresses the need to build and strengthen national capacity for
advocating and mainstreaming gender and human rights into various
development processes in Angola, thus contributing to the empowerment of
Angolan women. It is a major contribution towards providing coordinated
and focused support to the country as it emerges from emergency. It will
liase and coordinate with various Agencies in particular with UNICEF on
Gender-based Violence, the OHCHR on the National Human Rights Action
Plan, training in human rights based approach to programming,
implementation of the CEDAW recommendations, and reporting to other
Treaty Bodies. The UN Gender Theme Group will be resuscitated.

Equitable Economic Development, Democratic Governance & Decentralisation

Decentralisation

Although the decentralisation process in Angola started in 1999, the
Government's strategic vision was more recently incorporated in several
key development papers, including the PRSP. Angola being traditionally a
highly centralised state, the government must address a series of
difficulties in the implementation of the decentralisation process.
These relate to the legal and institutional framework for the process,
the lack of institutional capacity and inadequate democratic
participation at provincial and municipal levels and weaknesses in
fiscal decentralisation. The UN is assisting the government through a
three year UNDP-led Decentralisation & Local Governance Project
concentrating in four municipalities Luanda (Kilamba Kiaxi), Malanje
(Calandula), Uige (Sanza Pombo) Bie (Camacupa). In that context, a joint
UNDP Governance Team - Ministry of Territorial Administration mission
visited the municipality of Sanza Pombo in Uige province to undertake a
capacity building assessment at provincial and municipal levels. As in
previous visits to Bie, Malanje and Luanda provinces, the mission looked
into building partnerships with traditional authorities, NGOs, civil
society organizations.

Protection

The Government postponed the election of the Human Rights Ombudsman, to
which the former Minister of Justice was the only candidate. A series of
consultation with hearings with the Parliament and with civil society
representatives, as required by the "Paris Principles" on National Human
Rights Institutions, was also postponed. Of particular concern for the
Angolan human rights community is the absence of a law that specifies
the responsibilities, competences, structure, and procedures of the
Ombudsman's Office. The UNHRO has offered technical assistance to the
National Assembly for the formulation of a law.

NGOs involved in Civic Education projects have reported a degree of
apathy among the population possibly due to political intimidation.
Wariness of a repetition of the 1992 events that followed the elections
is rumoured in some provinces. Indeed, cases of political intolerance,
involving both UNITA and MPLA sympathizers, have taken place since the
beginning of the year. In particular a visit by Isaias Samakuva, the
current UNITA leader, to Huambo was marred with violent clashes between
UNITA and MPLA followers reportedly resulting in injuries. These
developments highlight the hypersensitivity of the political grassroots
bases despite recent statements by both parties that there was no
political intolerance in Angola.

Although the campaign has changed into a more generalized "soft"
operation, Operacao Brilhante continued during February according to the
head of the Angolan Army (FAA). Additionally, the Minister of Interior
updated the figure of illegal immigrants expelled under the operation,
which started last July to 256.417.

In Focus: HIV/AIDS

The Angolan HIV/AIDS prevalence is considerably lower than in
neighbouring countries, thus suggesting that the lack of mobility
resulting from the war may have slowed the spread of HIV/AIDS in the
country. Data from a National Seroprevalence Study conducted at the end
of last year amongst pregnant women receiving antenatal care in the 18
Angolan Provinces showed a prevalence rate of 2.8%. These results
confirm the previous UNAIDS "Epidemic Update 2004" which estimated a
prevalence rate below 5%.

However, caution is required when interpreting the data gathered in the
survey. Firstly, it is important to remember that antenatal care
facilities' coverage has been estimated below 40% so the peer group is
not entirely representative of the general population. The prevalence
rate is probably higher among other groups, in particular vulnerable
groups such as truck drivers, armed forces, commercial sexual workers
and street children. Also, the type of women who attend antennal care
facilities might not be representative of all pregnant women. It could
be argued that the peer group might tend to belong to more educated
group (because they seek medical care and live in areas developed enough
to give access to the facilities) and therefore be more reactive to
awareness campaigns and less at risk. The results cannot suggest a
decrease in the prevalence rate even when compared to the previous
estimates. Further studies on the general population, particularly on
high-risk groups should be conducted.

When reading the results of the study it is also important to pay close
attention to existing regional variations: in border provinces, HIV
prevalence is significantly higher, suggesting that population movement
conditions the rate of spread of the infection across borders and major
corridors. For instance, the Cunene province has a rate much higher than
the national average. Neighbouring Namibia has a prevalence rate of
roughly 19.8% in 2004. Though the Planalto region seems less affected,
the population movements from and to the Cunene province could up the
rate of spread of the infection in the region.

The results of the National Seroprevalence Survey raises some concerns
among the UN Thematic Group, the Ministry of Health and development
partners with regards to the potential relaxation effect that they might
induce and a possible lowering of the prioritisation of HIV/AIDS.
Significantly, the WHO considers any pandemic as a generalised threat to
a population when its prevalence rate reaches 1%. So this recently
measured HIV/AIDS 2.8% prevalence rate in pregnant women should note
give anyone any sense of security.

Instead, this prevalence rate should be understood as a unique window of
opportunity to stem the virus in Angola and consequently to send a
message of hope to those countries in Southern Africa hugely affected by
the pandemic. In the words of the Secretary General's special envoy for
HIV/AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, Angola can be part of the "Triangle
of Hope" together with other success stories in the continent such as
Uganda and Senegal. This is a historical opportunity for Angola.

Nevertheless, the window of opportunity will remain open for a short
period of time and much must be done urgently. As Stephen Lewis put it
"Angola is at the moment on the knife's edge. Angola will either plunge
into the abyss of the devastation of the pandemic, or Angola will
undertake a Herculean prevention effort and keep the prevalence rate
low. That is the challenge for the government". In a meeting with the
civil society, Stephen highlighted some of the actions he considered
vital for a successful fight against the epidemic:

    Prevention is the priority among priorities and should emphasise on
    media campaigns targeting 15-24 age groups as well as high-risk
    groups such as truck drivers, orphans, street children and the army

    Treatment for people living with Aids: at present only available in
    Luanda where 2,000 patients are being treated. Anti retroviral (ARV)
    treatment should be extended to the provinces. Angola's 3x5 (the
    global "Treat 3 million by 2005" initiative) country target is 5,500
    and that figure should be reached relatively easily.

    Training programs: should be accelerated so that prevention and
    treatment can be better managed and optimised

    VCT - Voluntary Counselling and Testing capacity should be reinforced

    Addressing gender discrimination issues is indispensable in order to
    fight epidemic

    Laying out an action plan regarding orphans before the problem
    becomes overwhelming

    People living with Aids, their voice should be taken more into
    consideration and their views given central stage in the strategy to
    fight the epidemic.


Post-war Angola faces numerous challenges. These include overcoming
widespread poverty, reconstructing economic and social infrastructure
and reintegrating displaced civilian populations, as well as demobilized
military and their families. In such a context a strong leadership is
fundamental to ensure an effective response to the HIV epidemic and the
current high level of commitment existing at central level of government
is encouraging.

Efforts from the Government to implement a multi-sectorial response are
now evident. The establishment of the National AIDS Commission chaired
by the President of the Republic and composed by 12 ministers, and the
approval of the National Strategic Plan already translated in Provincial
Action Plans are clear demonstrations that fighting HIV/AIDS is a
priority in the National Agenda. The HIV/AIDS law establishing the
responsibilities of the government to adopt measures of prevention,
control, treatment and investigation was voted last June.

However, these developments do not necessarily translate into increased
operational readiness. Further institutional response must include the
activation of the Executive Secretariat in order to allow a better flow
of information for decision-making process. The Executive Secretariat
will play a key role as an operational level coordination and monitoring
and evaluation unit for the National AIDS Commission providing the
necessary information for decision-making. At present, a transitional
executive secretariat is being handled by the Project Implementation
Unit of the World Bank HAMSET project. Moreover, the Technical Sub
Committee involving NGOs, donors and partners has still not been
established by the Government. Though some progress has been made, the
institutional framework for the fight against HIV/AIDS is somehow still
in the making.

Despite being strong at central level, leadership is mostly fragile at
provincial levels. Only half a dozen Provincial Committees, the
provincial mirror of the National Aids Commission, have been established
so far and none of them are truly operational. The lack of management,
monitoring and evaluation capacity is most evident in the province and
has hindered the start of the implementation of Provincial Action Plan.

In terms of funding, the Government's National Strategic Plan's estimate
of USD 160 million for the next 5 years is partly covered with the
Global Fund USD 90 million proposal that should be signed in April.

The UN system in Angola is committed to support the National Response in
its principal challenges for 2005. The main actions, in synergy with the
WB Project (HAMSET) are:

    To enhance the Executive Secretariat capacity to coordinate the
    implementation of the National Strategic Plan and to establish an
    operational Monitoring & Evaluation framework.

    To make operational the Provincial Committees to fight HIV/AIDS with
    a mandate defining degree of autonomy, reporting lines and areas of
    accountability.

    To scale up access to ARV treatment (3x5)


As illustrated recently in the Cunene province, the UN system will also
assist the Government in emergency response actions with training for
VCT - Voluntary Counselling and Testing capacity and extending treatment
locally.

HIV Prevalence amongst women attending ANC facilities per provinces

|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|                    |             | HIV            |            |
| Province           | Sample (n)  | Prevalence (%) |  95% C.I.  |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Bengo               |          332|        1.20    |  0.4 - 3.3 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Benguela            |        1,023|        0.88    |  0.4 - 1.7 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Bie                 |          523|        0.76    |  0.2 - 2.1 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Cabinda             |          497|        3.22    |  1.9 - 5.3 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Cunene              |          548|        9.12    | 6.9 - 11.9 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Huambo              |          500|        2.40    |  1.3 - 4.3 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Huila               |          503|        2.78    |  1.6 - 4.7 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Kuando-Kubango      |          496|        4.03    |  2.5 - 6.3 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Kuanza Norte        |          502|        1.00    |  0.4 - 2.4 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Kuanza Sul          |          525|        0.76    |  0.2 - 2.1 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Luanda              |        3,488|        3.18    |  2.6 - 3.8 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Lunda Norte         |          509|        3.34    |  2.0 - 5.4 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Lunda Sul           |          498|        3.41    |  2.1 - 5.5 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Malanje             |          499|        1.40    |  0.6 - 3.0 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Moxico              |          499|        2.61    |  1.5 - 4.5 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Namibe              |          504|        1.98    |  1.0 - 3.7 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Uige                |          500|        4.80    |  3.2 - 7.2 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|Zaire               |          494|        2.23    |  1.2 - 4.1 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|
|National Prevalence |       12,440|        2.8     |  2.5 - 3.1 |
|--------------------+-------------+----------------+------------|

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