Funding shortfall threatens recovery programmes

Although the humanitarian situation continues to stabilise in Angola, the United Nations has received just 39 percent of the funds needed for continuing its operations there. The UN requested US $313 million in its revised 2003 Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal, but only US $121 million had been covered by the beginning of September 2003. The most underfunded sectors include those focussed on supporting Angola's recovery from decades of civil war, such as: demining action; agricultural development; and education. Recent figures indicate that agricultural programmes had received a quarter of the US $22 million required, while only US $2.6 million had been donated to cover health projects budgeted at US $28.6 million. The UN in Angola commented that there was usually a "big time lag" between the time when contributions were received by UN agencies and when they were reported. Another consideration was that although the needs of NGOs were included in the broader appeal, it was difficult to track whether in fact projects had been funded or not, a UN official in Luanda told IRIN. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) recently noted that the funding shortfall had forced humanitarian agencies to prioritise among acutely vulnerable populations, highlighting that the funding received for food assistance had, as of July 2003, only reached 35 percent of the requested amount. "This shortfall is expected to delay the restoration of food security and prevent an estimated 180,000 vulnerable households from having access to seeds and tools for the planting season," the NRC warned. The public health sector was also seriously underfunded and by the end of August 2003 had only reached 8 percent. This was expected to hamper agencies trying to provide basic materials to newly established health posts, and expanding treatment for mothers and children. "The substantial shortfall will also have consequences for protection activities, birth registration, justice reform, demining activities, and life-saving programmes for 300,000 newly accessible people," NRC said. Analysts have pointed out that, given Angola's large oil reserves, donors expected the government to play a greater role in the country's reconstruction and recovery efforts after the end of the war in 2002. This, they said, could be one of the reasons for the lukewarm response by the international community. Moreover, donor countries have called on the government to provide a firmer commitment to fiscal transparency, as well as clear efforts to end alleged corruption. According to a leaked International Monetary Fund report, about US $1 billion went missing from state coffers in 2002 - about one third of the entire state revenue.