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WFP called in to help refugees

    JOHANNESBURG

    The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Monday it had called on the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to begin supplying food to "desperate" Angolan refugees in Namibia's Osire
    camp, about 230 km north of the capital Windhoek.

    Mengesha Kebede, UNHCR representative in South Africa told IRIN: "We have memorandum of understanding with WFP which states that if the population exceeds 5,000 we usually call on WFP to assist, and so we have called on the food agency to take over the food sector."

    Kebede, who has just returned from Osire, said there were now 9,200 refugees at the camp and described the situation as "desperate", with one of the most pressing problems being inadequate nursing staff and water supplies.

    He added that "overall responsibility", such as communicating with the Namibian government and the distribution of non-food items remained with UNHCR.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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