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The Angolan government on Tuesday launched an 18-month campaign to register and identify an estimated five million children and teenagers, many of them separated from their families by the civil war, AP reported. Justice Minister Paula Chipilika said the government intended to issue birth certificates and other identity documents to everyone aged up to 17.
More than three million people, about a quarter of Angola’s estimated population have been driven from their homes by the two-decade war between the army and the UNITA rebel group. Many people have lost their documents and the rebels have ransacked government offices in towns and villages across the country, destroying public records, Chipilika said. Continued fighting in rural areas will likely hinder the campaign.
About half of Angola’s population is aged under 18, according to UNICEF. Almost three in every 10 Angolan children die before they are five, mostly due to malnutrition and disease, UNICEF estimated.
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