Humanitarian agencies appeal for US $ 232 million

UN agencies and non-governmental organisations are appealing for more than US $232 million to fund humanitarian operations in Angola next year. In its 2002 Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for Angola released on Tuesday, the United Nations said the humanitarian situation in Angola did not improve in 2001, with displacement reaching three times the projected levels and resettlement stagnating, putting further strain on "over-stretched" emergency operations. "Although agencies were able to stabilise acutely distressed populations in accessible areas and efforts made by the government to reach vulnerable groups, little progress was made in reducing the emergency caseload and virtually no improvement occurred in social indicators," the appeal noted. According to the appeal, more than US $144 million will be needed for food security, with just over US $18 million needed for health and nutrition. It said that during 2001, food security deteriorated for many vulnerable populations in terms of availability and access to food "as a result of interlocking factors including late and irregular rains, lack of suitable land and inputs, and declining living standards". "Destitution among resident and displaced persons also increased, particularly in areas where insecurity prevented the regular movement of people and commodities. In addition tens of thousands of people lost their homes and agricultural fields during the heavy rains and flooding in March and April," the appeal added. The United Nations said that during 2002 the displacement of people was expected to continue at levels "only slightly lower" than in 2001. "Guerrilla and counter-insurgency warfare is expected to create further hardship and deepen vulnerabilities among at-risk populations, particularly in areas where no humanitarian assistance is provided," said the appeal. "Hundreds of thousands of Angolans in military contested areas are likely to suffer violations of their basic rights and more than one million displaced will depend on external assistance." According to the United Nations, "tens of thousands of civilians were systematically attacked by armed elements and relocated, sometimes forcibly, into municipal and provincial centres where international agencies provided life-saving assistance" in 2001. It added that "widespread" insecurity had a "serious impact" on the delivery of humanitarian assistance. "Despite over 70 assessments, agencies were able to launch new operations in 13 locations and only one new corridor in Camacupa was opened," the appeal said. "More than 60 percent of all humanitarian assistance was transported by air. Lack of fuel and ongoing delays with the repair of key airstrips, including Kuito, slowed humanitarian operations," it added. The United Nations said that although humanitarian conditions worsened during 2001, funding was "substantially" lower than expected and by October only 44 percent of the US $233 million requested in the revised 2001 inter-agency appeal had been received. The Angolan appeal is part of a global appeal made on Monday by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for $2.5 billion for 33 million people. Julie Thomson, OCHA information officer in Luanda, told IRIN on Tuesday that extensive consultation between the Angolan government, UN agencies, national and international non-governmental organisations had formed the basis for the appeal. She said it was the first time that agencies outside the UN system were consulted so widely on the appeal, and it was hoped that the approach would lead to a more co-ordinated and effective response to Angola's humanitarian crisis next year. "One of the important things to remember is that appeals are not only calls for donor responses, but are also a way of planning and developing strategies, and a more co-ordinated approach to sectoral planning," she said. For the appeal please go to http://www.reliefweb.int/appeals/2002/files/ang02.pdf