A new "human tragedy" in Africa

The UN's senior humanitarian coordinator in Angola warned on Tuesday that the international community would soon face a new "human tragedy" in Africa if the Angola crisis became another "forgotten emergency". In an interview with IRIN, Francesco Strippoli, the UN humanitarian coordinator and Word Food Programme (WFP} representative, said the security situation is deteriorating and the delivery of humanitarian assistance "every day becomes more difficult". "Already we are facing a tragic humanitarian situation in the country and more and more we talk less about the displaced and more about vulnerable groups among the entire population," he said. "We will see thousands more kids become malnourished and older people weaker and weaker. If we don't get sufficient resources, the tragedy of today will become a catastrophe." UNITA rebel activity in the countryside has forced civilians into Angola's towns and cities. Currently there are over 1.7 million war-displaced in the country, of whom over 930,000 are newly displaced. With roads closed due to the increasing insecurity, they have to be supplied with humanitarian assistance by air, raising the cost of the emergency relief operation. "Because the situation has deteriorated so fast, we are having to revise our humanitarian appeal," Strippoli said. In its mid-term review of the inter-agency appeal for Angola released last week, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) citing a "worst case scenario" in terms of human suffering, said its original 1999 appeal for US $66,665,852 had been surpassed: Now it required US $105,978,190. At present, WFP can only deliver aproximately 6,000 mt of food per month. In order to feed all Angolans currently estimated to be in need, it would need to double supplies to 12,000 mt a month. But faced with a food shortfall, WFP is providing rations to only the most vulnerable. "We would like to see the government increase their responsibility to deal with the humanitarian crisis in the country," Strippoli said. Among the measures being urged is a programme to allocate land by the local authorities to the displaced to allow them to farm and reduce their dependency on food aid from the humanitarian community. In the besieged, government-held central highlands city of Kuito, for example, a limited amount of land is being set aside to allow the cultivation of vegetables, with relief organisations providing seeds and tools. But with the perennial threat of mines and UNITA attacks, secure land is in short supply to grow the staple maize which needs to be planted in September with the arrival of the rains. Josto Santos Musiri is the head Soba (traditional leader) of over 10,250 displaced people from Chinguar, 80 km west of Kuito. The community is sheltered in a sprawling settlement of makeshift grass huts on the outskirts of the city. Under the agricultural scheme each family has been allocated 100 square metres of wetland and began cultivating last week. But according to Musiri, the land is not enough to support a family's food needs, "but it's better than nothing." He told IRIN he looks forward to the day he can return to Chinguar, currently under UNITA control. "Even if everything has been looted, we at least still have our fields."