Mortality rates remain high

Mortality rates in Angola remained high in July, especially among displaced populations in crowded camps and transit centres, where access to adequate water and sanitation systems was limited, OCHA said on Monday in its monthly report. “Malaria, acute respiratory infections and diarrhoeic diseases remain the most prevalent illnesses and cause of death. The precarious health situation continued to be exacerbated by limited supplies of essential medicines and understaffed health facilities,” the report said. However, according to OCHA, preliminary reports indicated that the mortality rates in Kuito, capital of Bie province, had decreased from 17 percent in June to 8.3 percent in July. In addition, between 50 and 70 cases of pellagra had been reported in the town each week, compared to 80 cases a week earlier in the year. In Kuanza Norte province, according to the OCHA report, the municipal administrator of Ambaca reported that about eight people were dying each day because of the critical lack of essential medicines in the municipality. Aid workers in Bie province told IRIN that the province was also plagued by medicine shortages, mainly in Camacupa, where a constant influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Cuemba saw the IDP population rise to about 19,000 in July. On malnutrition rates, OCHA said that communities with access to agricultural land benefited from the seasonal harvest, although the nutritional status of vulnerable populations in many areas remained “fragile”. “Malnutrition rates tended to be highest in areas with large influxes of newly displaced populations, as indicated by nutritional screenings conducted in Kuito, Cuima in Huambo province and Luena in Moxico province,” the report said. It added that according to a Medecins sans Frontieres-Belgium nutritional survey on 2 July, the average global malnutrition rate of IDPs in Kuito remained high, at 13 percent. According to the report, almost 300,000 Angolans have been displaced by the war since the beginning of the year, bringing the total number of people who have had to flee their homes since the civil war resumed in January 1998 to about 3.1 million. “Of this number, 1.28 million IDPs have been confirmed by humanitarian partners. Approximately 347,000 confirmed IDPs live in camps and transit centres and are completely dependent on humanitarian assistance for their survival,” the report said. It added that humanitarian partners were hoping to close down certain transit centres, where IDPs were living in substandard conditions and to resettle them in better areas. Relief agencies also continue to face logistical constraints. According to OCHA, the “extremely poor condition” of the runway in Kuito continues to hamper the delivery of humanitarian assistance. In Kuando Kubango, insecurity, poor road conditions and the lack of transport delayed the resettlement of about 14,000 IDPs from Kuito Kuanavale to other areas. In Malanje a lack of fuel in July continued to restrict humanitarian activities, mainly demining and resettlement. Flights to Uige had to be reduced, hampering the delivery of humanitarian assistance, because airstrips in Uige city and Negage were being repaired. On a more positive note, however, the Angolan government had agreed to ensure frontline direct food assistance to inaccessible populations in Cuemba, “although deliveries have been delayed due to lack of available air transport”, OCHA said. Aid agencies have been battling to reach IDPs in Cuemba due to ongoing fighting between rebels and government forces in Bie province.