Urgent aid needed for Mavinga

The medical relief agency Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on Tuesday called on the international community to urgently increase humanitarian aid to thousands of displaced people in Mavinga, in southeastern Angola. MSF said that since the unexpected arrival last week of a stream of hungry people into the Cuando Cubango Province town, stocks of emergency food aid had rapidly dwindled. "Yes, there is enough if we are talking about 'survivor' rations, but the food rations currently distributed in the area are insufficient to stabilise the nutritional status of the population," Fred Meylan, the head of the MSF mission in Angola, told IRIN. Last week, thousands of people left the Capembe and Matungo "reception sites" (previously called Quartering and Family Areas for ex-UNITA soldiers and their families), to make the 50-km journey to Mavinga, in the hope of receiving food aid. They had not received supplies for two weeks, following disruption to UN World Food Programme distribution schedules caused by the discovery of a landmine on the airstrip in Mavinga. Meylan said that the situation had worsened "overnight", and without an immediate injection of additional aid, the number of people needing medical assistance could increase dramatically. "Already, since the weekend, the number of new patients admitted to the hospital has doubled," he said. MSF cares for more than 1,700 people suffering from malnutrition in Mavinga, and the number is expected to triple over the next few months. "We are particularly concerned that the coming rainy season will severely hamper the delivery of food aid. The roads are extremely bad. Also, the trucks we have hired are in a terrible condition," he said. "Rain means the outbreak of epidemics and many other waterborne diseases like cholera. Already weakened through malnutrition, the children are the most vulnerable. We will definitely need further assistance," Meylan added. "It's extremely urgent that additional humanitarian aid be delivered. We expect full cooperation from the government, NGOs and the donor community. However, if areas in Mavinga are not demined without delay, then it is extremely difficult to provide food aid. These people depend entirely on humanitarian help," said Meylan.