Malnutrition remains high in Huambo

Although a UNITA rebel siege of Huambo has been lifted by a government offensive in the central highlands, the rate of malnutrition in Angola’s second city remains disturbingly high, humanitarian workers told IRIN. The World Food Programme (WFP) plans to increase its food aid to Huambo for October to close to 1,600 mt to feed 150,000 beneficiaries. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is providing assistance to an additional 200,000 people in Huambo and the nearby town of Caala. And yet, despite the food being flown into the city, Save the Children Fund recently registered 20,000 people who have become “newly vulnerable”. WFP’s monthly food ration per person of 6 kg of maize, 2 kg of pulses, a litre of cooking oil and a little salt provides a daily intake of 1,800 calories as opposed to a minimum requirement of around 2,100 calories. The ration, though, is supposed to merely supplement the diet of the displaced and, increasingly, impoverished residents. But the reality is that the food aid is most peoples’ main source of nourishment. In the absence of verification by a planned nutritional survey, “my general feeling is that the situation is deteriorating faster than food can be put into Huambo,” Francesco Strippoli, the UN humanitarian coordinator and WFP representative told IRIN. “Trade links have collapsed and the entire internally displaced and resident population are totally dependent on humanitarian assistance.” However, according to an aid worker in Huambo, “it’s what people eat, not how much they eat”, which is also cause for concern. A diet based almost solely on maize “doesn’t stop malnutrition, just starvation.” “A full ration has enough calories but not enough proteins,” the aid worker added. People cannot afford to buy fresh vegetables in the market, and when they do add vitamins and proteins to their diet - or even when purchasing cooking fuel - part of the ration must be sold. The situation is made all the more difficult for displaced and residents alike as this is the traditional lean season ahead of the harvest at the beginning of next year. To help address the situation, WFP and its partner agencies are considering opening community kitchens rather than continuing with general food distribution where little control is exercised over what the beneficiaries actually consume.