Govt must do more, says NGO

A Washington-based advocacy group on Tuesday accused the Angolan government of not doing enough to help millions of its people in dire need of food and shelter. In a report titled 'Poor people in a rich government's country', Refugees International (RI) pointed to the glaring discrepancy between how much the government received in revenue, from mainly petroleum sales, and how much it had pledged for humanitarian assistance. The report said World Bank figures put the country's gross domestic product (GDP) at close to US $9 billion, yet Angola ranks 161 out of 173 countries on the Human Development Index of 2002. "Where is Angola's wealth?" the report asked. Some NGOs have alleged that the lack of transparency and the government's over expenditure on military build-up, during almost three decades of civil war, may have contributed to the current situation. The report said that while 4.3 percent of the government's reported oil revenues would be spent on relief efforts it was not clear "exactly how and when all of these funds will be spent". "The donor community is faced with a difficult dilemma. The government has the means to meet urgent needs, but is slow to do so. Government officials are giving no indication that they are seized with the sense of urgency that the UN and NGOs are demonstrating. This raises the question: does the international community care more about the Angolan people than does the governemnt of Angola?" the report asked. RI said more than half of Angolans were undernourished and maternal and child mortality was estimated to be the second highest in the world. Recent assessments estimate that close to 3 million people in Angola are in need of urgent food aid. "In need of food and medical care, mothers walk for three days to receive one and a half pounds [less than a kilogram] of corn flour. Therapeutic feeding centres in the provinces are full. Mortality rates in the newly accessible areas are 5.7 per 10,000 per day, two and half times greater than the emergency threshold for children under five," the report said. RI recommended that the government embark on long-term development projects critical to the recovery of its country. It called for the immediate repair of roads, bridges and other infrastructure necessary for the successful delivery of humanitarian assistance. It also suggested that the government assume a more active role in demining and landmine awareness. The organisation called on the governemnt of Angola to collaborate with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and NGOs to develop a pragmatic transition programme for the next 18 months, including the facilitation of humanitarian assistance.