Humanitarian update.

Over 19,000 Angolan civilians were driven from their homes in conflict-related displacement in January alone, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Luanda said in a report released on Wednesday.

IDPs

The largest number of new internally displaced persons (IDPs) was in Bie province in central Angola, a former base of the rebel UNITA movement. Humanitarian organisations confirmed the arrival of 9,483 people, the report said. The total number of persons displaced during 2000 reached 457,000 by the end of December.

OCHA added that by the end of December, 288,000 people had been “temporarily relocated” throughout the country. “Humanitarian partners estimate that more than 315,000 persons currently living in camps and transit centres should be identified for priority resettlement.
The majority of these populations are concentrated on the provinces of Bie, Huila, Moxico, and Bengo,” the report noted. Return movements of IDPs continued in January, although large-scale return was limited due to “persistent insecurity”.

Logistical constraints hampering humanitarian assistance
The report said that a number of logistical constraints continued to “hamper humanitarian assistance activities”. In Uige province in the north, the road between the provincial capital and Negage further to the south remained poor making humanitarian assistance difficult. “Potholes and mines forced humanitarian workers to rely on infrequent and expensive flights,” the report said. In Bie province, repairs to the Kuito airstrip began but were not completed and with the onset of heavy rains, the condition of the airstrip deteriorated further.

In Kuito Kuanavale in the southern Kuando Kubango province, the airstrip required repair and in Huambo, the capital of the central Huambo province the airstrip needed “close monitoring” the report said.

Food security

Intermittent and irregular rains throughout Angola in January resulted in drought-like conditions, with a “dry-belt” stretching from Kuanza Norte in the north through Kuanza Sul to Huambo, Bie, parts of Huila and into Kuando Kubango. “Assessments indicate that provinces in the south may be the worst affected. In Menongue between 40 and 80 percent of agricultural production has been lost and between 60 and 100 percent in Kuito Kuanavale,” the report said. “Unless rains occur in dry areas in time for the second planting season in February widespread crop failure may occur, leading to increased hunger.”

The report said that although the agricultural campaign was one of the most successful in recent years, drought conditions, limited land distribution and ongoing insecurity were likely to hamper overall production, and may perhaps lead to increased food insecurity.

Food assistance

The report said that WFP had indicated the current food pipeline was facing shortfalls for the months of March and April, with serious shortages of maize, corn-soya-blend and pulses. “WFP’s new emergency programme foresees a decrease in general food distribution in favour of a recovery and rehabilitation strategy aimed at promoting self-reliance,” the report noted.

Health and nutrition

In the northern Malange province, the report added, maternal mortality rates were reported to be critical with 4,084 deaths for every 100,000 births. The under-five mortality rate was also reported to be high with three deaths a day. The report said that a recent survey indicated that the nutrition situation in the province had improved.

Aid contributions

The report said that as of 19 January, 53.4 percent of the total revised requirement for UN operations in Angola for 2000 were covered. The largest contributors to the 2000 appeal included Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, United States, the European Union and South Africa.
For the complete report please go to:
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/vWN