OCHA HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN ANGOLA Reporting period: 30 August to 12 September 1999
General Situation The general situation in the country continued to be characterised by increasing military operations in numerous areas including clashes, attacks on undefended villages and ambushes on civilian vehicles circulating on the very few accessible roads. As a result, more displacements of populations have occurred during the period under review thus further increasing the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and stretching further the capacities of humanitarian organisations. The Deputy Country Director of WFP and the Swedish Ambassador visited Malange on 1 September while the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Angola went to Uige on 2 September (see more details further on). The preparation of the year 2000 UN Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for Angola is ongoing with meetings at the level of working groups in accordance with the different sectors of the Appeal. UN Agencies, donor community and NGOs are involved in this process aiming at setting up the humanitarian requirements for next year. Meanwhile, the Government of Angola is being updated on the process. Humanitarian Situation and Assistance The humanitarian situation in the country continues to be a matter of concern for the humanitarian community. Access to all populations in need, the lack of security conditions and the shortage of fuel for humanitarian assistance activities are main constraints. Consequently, assistance activities continue to be developed in limited areas of the country and at increasing risk and pressure given the magnitude of the plight of vulnerable persons. The situation of resident populations in besieged cities and other host communities is also deteriorating. Preliminary results of a rapid nutritional assessment completed on 2 September by a WFP Senior Nutrition Advisor indicate that more attention should be paid to the resident populations in besieged cities. In Huambo where the global malnutrition has reached 16%, humanitarian partners including UN Agencies, ICRC and NGOs are working closely to respond to the situation in the city. As humanitarian assistance should not be understood only as an aid for the survival of the beneficiaries but also as a bridge to self-sustenance, special attention is being dedicated to the provision of agricultural inputs, the establishment of temporary resettlement areas and social structures and allocation of land. One example is in Luena where the Lutheran World Federation has prepared a plant nursery with 24,000 eucalyptus and different fruit trees to support agricultural activities. In Malange, while food distributions are expected to reach 3,000 MT this month, more than 49,000 IDP families have so far been registered for the resettlement program within the security perimeter outside the town. It is planned to resettle most of them in the areas of Quessua (5,789 families), Kulamuxito (18,242) and Kizanga da Barraca (6,348). However, the available land so far identified is insufficient. MINADER will continue its efforts to identify more land. WVI with WFP support plans to open a therapeutic feeding centre in Kulamuxito while UNICEF made available equipment for the establishment of two health posts in Kulamuxito and Quessua and has sufficient material in Malange for the rehabilitation of 60 hand pumps. NPA is already working on demining activities in the resettlement areas and removed nine UXOs during the reporting period. The number of PICs and community kitchens has increased from 74 to 93 since the last report assisting now over 60,660 persons. GVC is supporting the intensive care unit at the Paediatric Ward of the Provincial Hospital where 75 children are admitted. In Kuito, increasing tension in surrounding areas led to a reduction in food arriving from these areas. However, approximately 14,000 families have so far planted in lowland within the framework of agricultural resettlement activities for IDPs. With the continuous arrival of people from Sanza Pombo and other areas in the north-east of Uige Province, Negage is now hosting approximately 10,000 new IDPs who arrived without their belongings. In his visit on 2 September, the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Angola, Mr. Francesco Strippoli, witnessed the living conditions of these populations. He emphasised the need of an immediate assistance, not only in terms of food aid but also in terms of agricultural inputs, as the local authorities stated that there was enough available land for agricultural activities in Negage. On the same day, WFP airlifted Danish Refugee Council (DRC) agricultural inputs to Uige for IDP families. Subsequently, humanitarian partners in Uige held a series of meetings to set up a plan of action. Two reception centres have been identified in Negage and Uige for immediate assistance to the new IDPs, while relief operators, in close collaboration with the local authorities, are already working on the establishment of resettlement areas and the provision of basic social services. There is insufficient land available in Uige municipality and some IDPs are moving to Negage where WFP is to direct its food assistance. DRC is distributing food, non-food items (of UNICEF and DRC) and agricultural inputs to the IDPs in Negage. A total of 133 IDP families from Mucaba and Songo received agricultural tools in Candande Loe area, in Uige municipality. However, one of the main constraints is the lack of fuel for humanitarian assistance activities. In Zaire Province, new arrivals of IDPs from Cuimba have been reported in Mbanza Congo following attacks on villages. A joint humanitarian assessment mission composed of MINARS, UCAH, WFP, UNICEF, NRC and ADMA from Lubango was carried out in Hoque and Matala, in Huila Province. In Hoque, Lubango municipality, where MINARS is resettling IDP families, the mission concluded that the area has security conditions and sufficient land for agricultural activities. Most of the IDPs are building their huts and rehabilitating schools and health posts. UNICEF provided them with blankets, bars of soap and plastic jerry cans. In Matala, the number of IDPs has increased to 46,000 following new arrivals from Dongo, Kuvango and Jamba Mineira. A pilot nutritional survey carried out in the last week of August by COSV jointly with MINSA and UNICEF showed that the situation is worrisome in Cambambe II IDP camp, in Bengo Province. According to the preliminary results, out of 394 children, the survey found 21 (5.3%) with severe and 42 (10.6%) with moderate malnutrition. COSV recommended the continuation of the existing supplementary feeding centre at the centre and a broader nutritional survey targeting the whole population of Caxito. As of 6 September, WFP food stock in the country stood at 26,914 MT of maize, maize meal, pulses, CSB, fish, oil, sugar and salt. distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in Technical Assistance Disaster Information Center lists: www.vita.org/listsub.htm sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org appeal fireline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -