Many in need in inaccessible areas, OCHA

As many as 200,000 vulnerable Angolans may be in critical distress in inaccessible areas, warns the latest report by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Luanda. "Although the humanitarian situation continues to stabilise, [humanitarian] partners are concerned about a number of factors. The number of people requiring food assistance has reached 1.8 million and an additional 300,000 people may become food insecure in the months ahead. Credible reports indicate that as many as 200,000 vulnerable people may be in critical distress in inaccessible areas," the OCHA update noted. Also cause for concern were high rates of severe malnutrition in at least 15 locations, there was also the real danger that "additional pockets [of distress] may be present in remote communities". OCHA said morbidity and mortality levels remained at emergency and acute levels in many locations and that millions of children were vulnerable to killer diseases, including measles. "The majority of social infrastructure in hard-hit areas including health posts, education facilities and water systems have not yet been repaired and access is becoming increasingly difficult during the seasonal rains," OCHA noted. Adding another dimension to the humanitarian crisis in Angola was the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees. Government statistics put the number of IDPs at more than 2.8 million. OCHA said about 290,000 IDPs continued to live in camps and transit centres. The provinces with the largest concentrations of IDPs include Bié, Huíla, Huambo, Kuando Kubango and Kuanza Sul. About 425,000 ex-combatants and their family members live in 33 gathering areas and seven satellite centres, a decrease of about 39,000 since early November, OCHA noted. "Between April and the end of November, approximately 1.1 million IDPs have returned to their areas of origin throughout the country. The provinces where the largest return movements are occurring are Bengo, Bié, Huambo, Kuanza Sul and Malanje," the office added. Of the 1.1 million IDPs who had resettled or returned to their areas of origin by the end of November, only 15 percent had moved under an organised plan. "Approximately 30 percent of returnees are living in areas where the pre-conditions specified in the Norms [standards for return] ... are in place," OCHA said. Meanwhile, reports indicated that more than 86,400 Angolan refugees had spontaneously returned from neighbouring countries since January, primarily to Kuando Kubango, Moxico, Uíge and Zaire provinces. "Of this number, local authorities and humanitarian partners have registered approximately 61,300 people. As many as 400,000 Angolan refugees remain in the neighbouring countries of Zambia, Namibia, Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo," the OCHA added.