New report cites alarming humanitarian situation

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that the plight of hundreds of thousands of people displaced by fighting between government forces and
UNITA rebels in Angola could turn from crisis to tragedy unless urgent measures are taken to alleviate their suffering.

In some cases, it said, people driven from their homes are being forced to eat worms and grass to survive, while health, sanitation, access to clean drinking water and overcrowding in shelters and camps for displaced people in many areas of the country are such that these locations themselves present a threat to those who have so far survived in a civil war which has
endured since the country's independence from Portugal in 1975.

Insecurity remains rife with landmines widespread around the perimeters of provincial capitals. The country's roads are either poorly maintained or too dangerous because of ambushes and land mines, while many air fields - often the only means of delivering humanitarian assistance - are badly damaged
through overuse.

These are just some of the findings presented in a detailed 38-page rapid needs assessment carried out during the first week of April. The inter-agency assessment team of UN, government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) was led by the UN Emergency relief Coordinator, a.i., Carolyn McAskie.

"It is important for the international community and the government of Angola to react promptly if we are to avert the current crisis from becoming a major humanitarian tragedy," McAskie said in a statement.

Zoraida Mesa, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Angola, said in a forward to the report: "The humanitarian situation is alarming. If current trends continue, the situation in Angola could deteriorate to the point of a crisis." With the first phase of the assessment now complete, she said it would be followed up in May by a second stage of technical assessments
around the country so as to develop a series of nationwide strategies for each sector.

The government has put the total number of people displaced at an estimated 3.8 million, or roughly a third of Angola's population. The new report said those most at risk were children, widows, pregnant women, people handicapped by landmines and wounded people. It described them as being on "the edge of the abyss".

Key findings of the new report

Humanitarian assistance is good where security is good. Food rations have to be increased. Gaps were found in humanitarian coverage in farming, health, non-food items, water, sanitation and shelter, Conditions are most acute in poorly managed transit centres. Most displaced people are dependent on aid, and none of the hospitals or health posts visited had sufficient essential
medicines. Many had no medicine at all.

It also found that children throughout Angola have not been vaccinated against life-threatening diseases. Most displaced people, whether newly arrived or long-term, do not own the essential items they need to survive including plastic sheeting, blankets, soap, buckets, clothing and kitchen sets. More than half of the displaced persons living in camps have
inadequate shelter and most do not have access to safe drinking water. "Many beneficiaries are subjected to harassment and in certain locations, humanitarian assistance is misappropriated," it added. "Some displaced populations have been moved involuntarily to unsafe areas."

It also said: "Humanitarian agencies face difficulties in implementing life-saving programmes due to delays in receiving visas and clearance of non-food items through central entry points."