Angolan basic indicators among the worst in the world - SCF

The impact of Angola's long war and a lack of investment in social services have had a devastating impact on the country's children, with basic indicators continuing to be "among the worst in the world", Save the Children Fund says in its latest emergency update. Quoting UN statistics, the Fund said one in every three Angolan children died before the age of five, one mother in every 50 died while giving birth, 42 percent of all Angolan children were underweight for their age and less than half ever went to school. "Nationwide, 50 percent of men and 70 percent of women are illiterate. According to OCHA, 3.7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance of whom 1.5 million are internally displaced persons (IDPs), displaced in their home country due to the war. It's estimated that 34 percent of households in Angola have ready access to potable water and 44 percent to basic sanitation," the report said. Further detailing the plight of the Angolan child, the report said that while the adult literacy rate had increased from 12 percent in 1970 to 42 percent in 1998, primary school enrolment had been falling. In was 35 percent in 1997, well below the average of 56 percent for sub-saharan Africa. "A mere 5.8 percent of the 2001 budget was directed towards education," said the report. It also said that years of under-investment in the sector, as well as the war, had debilitated public health services. "Thousands of children and their families do not have accessible public services and cannot afford to pay for private care. In numerous locations, the government has largely abandoned healthcare provision to non-governmental organisations and churches. Just 5.7 percent of the annual budget was directed towards health and sanitation," the report charged. In the next year, SCF plans to invest additional resources to establish a response to HIV/AIDS. The national HIV sero-prevalence is estimated to be between 3 and 5 percent in the adult population. "This information leaves many important questions unanswered, such as whether a difference exists between urban and rural settings. Studies reveal relatively high levels of knowledge about HIV in Luanda but little corresponding behaviour changes. Outside of Luanda, levels of knowledge are poor," the report noted. "Government hospitals are enormously challenged in their care for people living with HIV by the lack of adequately trained medical and nursing personnel and the extremely limited resources," the survey added. It was critical of the government's response to the humanitarian crisis in the country, echoing criticism levelled against the Luanda authorities by other humanitarian organisations earlier this year. "The government, despite oil revenues of around US $3 billion, blames the war for the failure to invest in social services and infrastructure. A substantial proportion of government revenue, meanwhile, has gone into buying arms. "The state's involvement in the provision of food, education, water, shelter, health and social services is meagre, even in the face of critical humanitarian need. Effectively, the government delegates its responsibilities for providing these services to humanitarian agencies, diverting its social responsibility towards Angolan children," the Fund said. For the full report please see: http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/6686f45896f15dbc852567ae00530132/324ce560315959c3c1256afb003da66d?OpenDocument