The humanitarian situation in figures

A report on the situation in Angola presented by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) shows that it now costs US $400 per mt to deliver emergency aid by air to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people in Angola. The report, presented to the UN Security Council last week said: "This is a direct result of the risks associated with the potential armed attacks on convoys and the threat of landmines, their number now estimated at 10 million." It said it was significant that these mines included tose laid since the beginning of 1998, both by tge UNITA rebel movement and the Angolan Armed forces (FAA), some in areas that had been previously demined. "It is estimated there has been one mine incident for every 430 persons and that resultant amputations between 70,000 and 100,000," the report said. The report also gave the following sectoral breakdown of the humanitarian situation Health Because of the prolonged period of conflict, only 24 percent of Angolans now had access to adequate health care. Immunisation The prevention and eradication of childhood diseases such as polio and measles had by the end of 1997 achieved an immunisation rate of 38 percent and 48 percent respectively. Mortality rates The child mortality rate under the age of five was 292 per 1,000, and infant mortality rates at 170 per 1,000. It said that the maternal mortality rate was 1,500 per 10,000. Child risk measure The report said that "a combination of health, nutrition and other factors affecting the quality of life for children, places Angola as the country at the top of the worldwide Child Risk Measure." It added: "Given the current situation and difficulties of access to vulnerable populations, these figures can hardly be expected to improve in the months ahead." Water and sanitation Only 31 percent of Angolans had access to potable water and 40 percent to adequate sanitation. Agriculture The report said that the war has had a devastating effect on the productive sectors of the country. Internal displacement and the limited access of resident populations in besieged cities to their nearby farms led to a significant decrease in cereal production for the October 1998 to the February 1999 season. "The decline has thus reduced the availability of intermediary household stocks and moved the traditional lean period before the main February 2000 harvest forward by several months."