Humanitarian situation remains dramatic

The United Nations Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Unit (UCAH) says the humanitarian situation in Angola remains critical, despite the efforts of relief agencies to reach affected populations. In their latest report, UCAH said that between 23-29 August heavy fighting between the government and rebel UNITA forces displaced yet more people. In Malanje, about 340 km east of the capital Luanda, the report said there had been "significant increases" in food distribution during August, but added that the "spectrum of hunger continues with daily reports of people dying from malnutrition-related causes." The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said that it would distribute about 3,000 mt of food in September. "Following the guarantee of food assistance to those internally displaced people who accept to be resettled for agricultural activities, a massive movement of populations towards Lombe corridor is now taking place in Malanje threatening the capacity in terms of availability of land," the report said. In the central highland town of Huambo, about 520 km east of Luanda the nutritional situation has continued to worsen. According to UCAH, catholic missionaries in the town have describe the situation as a "strange hunger never seen in our history with families drinking boiled water with salt as the only way to survive." It said that according to traditional authorities and church members, on average there were two people dying daily from hunger on the outskirts of Huambo.