OCHA Situation Report
Angola
Period: 1 - 15 February 2003
5 March 2003


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Critical Issues

   A fourth anti-tank mine incident since December occurred on the Kuito -
   Huambo road near Chinguar in Bié Province.

   Efforts are made to access populations cut-off from assistance,
   including air drops in Luvemba in Huambo Province.

   The condition of the airstrip continues to hamper humanitarian
   assistance in Mavinga in Kuando Kubango Province.

   Humanitarian activities for 4,000 returnee families resume in Amboiva
   commune in Kuanza Sul Province.

   Critical needs are reported in several locations, including Muriege,
   Alto Chicapa, Muconda and Cazage and Tchitala in Lunda Sul Province.

   The road Malanje - Cambondo is reopened following mine verification and
   clearance in Malanje Province.

   Essential drugs are lacking in Cazombo in Moxico Province.

   Thousands of refugees are spontaneously returning to Kimbele

   Access remains difficult to many areas in Uíge and Zaire Provinces.


Provincial Update

Bengo Province: According to recent vulnerability assessments, 157,834
persons in the province require food assistance. During a food security
meeting on 11 February, partners reported that they plan to provide food
to 48,891 beneficiaries in Dande, Bula Atumba, Pango Aluquem, Dembos,
Quibaxe, Icolo e Bengo and Ambriz Municipalities in February, representing
only 30 percent of the population in need of food assistance. Local
authorities will also provide assistance to community child feeding
programmes, vulnerable groups and demobilised soldiers arriving from other
provinces.

A trypanosomiasis screening was conducted on 14 February in Cabiri in
Icolo e Bengo Muncipality. Five new cases were identified and referred for
treatment to local health facilities.

More than 270 persons remain in the Mimbota gathering area awaiting
transport to their areas of origin in Bengo, Bié, Huambo, Huíla, Kuanza
Norte, Kuanza Sul, Luanda, Malanje, Moxico and Uíge Provinces.

Benguela Province: Approximately 240 MTs of food were distributed to
14,647 persons in the four remaining gathering areas (GA) in the province.
Ex-combatants and their families from the Malongo GA received the
distribution in the Chongoroi transit centre where they have been waiting
for transport since the closure of Malongo. More than 1,000 ex-combatants
and their families have recently arrived in or returned to Caimbambo
Municipality and the Passe and Chingongo gathering areas. Some arrivals
have not yet been registered and others are returning to the GAs in search
of assistance not received before departing. On February 13, humanitarian
partners and Government and military authorities met to discuss issues
related to ex-combatants and their family members who remain in the
gathering areas, including the demobilisation process, food assistance,
resettlement kits and the security of humanitarian personnel.

In Tchiluama, Bocoio Municipality, the Provincial Department of Health and
NGOs began a one-month workshop on 3 February to train health promoters.
More than 2,430 persons have returned to Tchiluama and require health
assistance.

In Benguela and Lobito town, heavy rainfall has caused inundations in some
neighbourhoods. Partners are concerned that the lack of basic sanitation
and drainage in these neighbourhoods will lead to an increase in malaria
and water-borne diseases. The number of children admitted to the
therapeutic feeding centre in Benguela town increased from December to
January, with 54 and 77 admissions, respectively.

Nineteen cases of measles were confirmed in children under five in Baia
Farta Municipality during November and December. An emergency vaccination
campaign was conducted to control the situation.

Preliminary information also suggests that admissions in the feeding
centre in Balombo increased slightly. Lack of basic sanitation,
particularly during the rainy season, and depleted food stocks are the
main causes of increased malnutrition. Partners plan to increase
nutritional screening in newly accessible and return areas and adjust
nutritional programmes accordingly.

Bié Province: A anti-tank mine incident occurred on 7 February on the
Kuito - Chinguar road, nine km from Cangala and four km from the site of
the 13 January mine incident. Four persons were wounded. This is the
fourth mine accident in three months on the Huambo - Kuito road.

Municipal authorities from N´harea have reported a critical nutrition
situation in Chimuco and surrounding areas. Broken bridges and poor road
conditions limit access to the locations. Food insecurity has also been
reported in Chivaulo.

According to provincial authorities, 1,566 demobilised personnel and
family members have returned to Bié Province from 11 provinces. More than
half of the returnees are from Kuanza Sul, Benguela and Kuando Kubango
Provinces.

Huambo Province: On 6 - 7 February, WFP airdropped approximately 87 MTs of
food to 4,920 beneficiaries in Luvemba in Huambo Province. Populations in
Luvemba had been cut off from assistance since the end of November due to
poor road conditions that impeded the passage of heavy trucks. High rates
of malnutrition in the area are suspected, based on increasing admissions
of persons from Luvemba to feeding centres in nearby Bailundo. The
collapsed bridge preventing access from Bailundo to Alto Hama has also
been repaired and partners distributed food to approximately 20,000
beneficiaries in Cululu, near Bailundo.

Following the resumption of road traffic between Bailundo and Mungo,
partners conducted a blanket feeding for 14,081 children under five on 7 -
8 February. During the distribution, a rapid nutritional screening
identified 19 percent global acute malnutrition and 47 severely
malnourished children were transferred to the therapeutic feeding centre
in Bailundo. More than 2,220 children were identified as moderately
malnourished and 4,243 children are at risk of malnutrition.

In the Chiteta and Esfinge gathering areas, the most commonly registered
illnesses during January were malaria, acute respiratory infections, acute
diarrhoea and sexually-transmitted diseases. Provincial authorities report
that 15,531 demobilised personnel and family members have left gathering
areas for locations within the province. Partners remain concerned about
mine infestation and lack of basic social conditions in return areas.

Huíla Province: Access to Chicomba, Kuvango and Chipindo remains difficult
due to heavy rains in the region. An inter-agency assessment mission took
place from 9 - 14 February to Chipindo and Chicomba. During the visit to
Chipindo, approximately 600 persons were registered for assistance.
Populations expressed interest in moving to Bambi commune or other
locations in Huíla, Huambo and Bié Provinces. Provincial authorities are
concerned about the reinstallation of 5,662 persons expected to arrive
from the Galangue gathering area due to lack of resettlement kits and
shelter and insufficient food stocks. During the visit to Chicomba, local
authorities reported that they expect the returnee population in the
municipality to increase from 28,000 to 60,000, including 3,400
ex-combatants and family members from Galangue. Although the Chicomba
airstrip has been demined and the local administration has begun to clear
the high grass, it is unlikely that the airstrip will be usable until
after the rainy season. Road access from Matala through Kuveli and Que is
difficult due to mud and the road from Caconda cannot be used due to a
broken bridge. The mission found that local building materials are not
readily available and health infrastructures require repair. Partners have
opened a medical facility in the town and water interventions, routine
vaccinations, agricultural assistance and a distribution of didactic
materials are planned. Food rations were distributed in the location in
January and a second two-month distribution is planned for the end of
February. Limited quantities of vegetable seeds and tools were also
distributed on 7 February.

A registration re-verification exercise conducted in Quilengues
Municipality confirmed the presence of 2,009 returnee families.
Approximately 260 families are demobilised personnel and family members.
All families have received land and agricultural inputs for the current
agricultural season.

On 13 February, 81 persons arrived at a transit centre in Lubango from Bié
Province. Provincial authorities are providing food assistance while the
persons await transport to their areas of origin.

Kuando Kubango Province: In Mavinga, despite repairs in December, the
airstrip was closed for seven days in early February due to heavy rains
and the rapidly deteriorating landing surface. Road access to Mavinga is
still impossible due to mine infestation. Partners are concerned about
possible breaks in the food and essential drugs pipelines for an estimated
100,000 beneficiaries if more permanent repairs are not undertaken. On 12
February, an anti-personnel mine was activated by a water truck within the
hospital compound near the newly erected water tank. The area has been
demarcated and will be demined.

Provincial authorities reported the arrival of 3,454 resettlement kits for
demobilised personnel from the Soba Mattias gathering area returning to
locations within the province. Kits for ex-combatants returning from other
provinces have not yet been received. Although food assistance has been
provided to the more than 800 former UNITA soldiers transported from Jamba
to Soba Mattias, shelter materials and emergency non-food items are not
yet available.

Kuanza Norte Province: According to provincial authorities, approximately
2,200 ex-combatants and family members received assistance and were
transported to their areas of origin. More than 600 persons were also
transported to Lucala transit centre.

Despite repairs to the bridge over the Zenza River at the beginning of
January, the poor condition of the road connecting Ngonguembo and
Ndalatando is hampering assistance to approximately 4,000 persons in
Ngonguembo.

In the water sector, partners estimate that approximately 90 percent of
returnees are gathering water from unprotected water points and
water-borne diseases continue to be the main cause of mortality in the
province. A water and sanitation programme benefiting 10,000 persons has
been implemented in the Kashongongo camp in Cela Municipality.

Kuanza Sul Province: Humanitarian activities have resumed in Amboiva
commune in Seles Municipality to assist approximately 4,000 returnee
families. The main road linking Amboiva to the municipal seat in Seles
remains closed due to suspected mine infestation and partners must use an
alternative route through Waku Kungo and Cassongue.

Lunda Sul Province: Critical needs have been reported in several areas
throughout the province. Four hundred persons from remote areas and
Angolan refugees returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo have
arrived in Muriege commune in Muconda municipality in search of food
assistance. Approximately 2,900 persons in Alto Chicapa are at risk of
food insecurity due to logistical constraints that prevent partners from
providing assistance. Returning populations in between Muconda and Cazage
are also cut-off from assistance due to poor road conditions and damaged
bridges. Access to Tchitala in Cacolo Municipality is impossible due to a
recent mine incident that led to the closure of the road Saurimo - Cacolo.
Local authorities report that as many as 1,500 persons are food insecure
in Tchitala.

Partners registered 3,815 persons in Luma Cassai and 1,364 persons in
Cazoa in Dala Municipality in early February. Approximately 150 MTs of
food were distributed to more than 14,000 beneficiaries during the first
week of the month in Muconda Municipality.

The Mine Action Sub-Group met on 7 February to discuss the threat of mines
in locations where humanitarian assistance is being planned or is
underway. Participants included representatives of the provincial
Government, military authorities, UN Agencies and NGOs. The mobile health
clinic in Tchicundo commune has been suspended due to suspected mine
infestation.

Malanje Province: On 15 February, the road Malanje - Cambondo was reopened
following verification of a 16 km stretch of road, the removal of two
anti-tank and four anti-personnel mines and the creation of passing areas
every 500 metres. A one-day training workshop was also held to inform UN
Agency and NGO drivers of the risk of mines and safety measures to avoid
mine incidents. The road had been closed since a mine incident in late
December.

According to municipal authorities, more than 3,047 persons who have
returned to their areas of origin in Soqueco commune in Cacuso
Municipality are in critical need of food and health assistance, water and
sanitation interventions, clothing and essential non-food items. Reports
of malnourished children have also been received.

On 13 - 14 February, Government representatives, UN Agencies and NGOs
conducted an inter-agency rapid needs assessment in Kiwaba Nzoji
Municipality, 86 km north of Malanje town. Access to the municipality
remains difficult, particularly during the rainy season. Team members
found that all social infrastructures are destroyed, basic health services
are only provided in the municipal seat and no routine immunisation
activities are underway. The most critical needs are food assistance,
seeds and tools, essential drugs, clothing and kitchen sets. Although more
approximately 2,750 families have spontaneously returned to areas of
origin in the municipality, only 950 families have been provided with
non-food items, including soap, blankets, water containers and kitchen
sets.

The Technical Group on Verification and Registration conducted an exercise
in Cangandala to verify the number of IDPs from Kambundi Katembo and
Luquembo in Malane Province and Mussende in Kuanza Sul Province. The team
verified 4,096 IDPs and found that more than half of the IDPs from
Mussende have returned. Some IDPs have also resettled in areas with better
possibilities for agricultural activities, including Zema-Zema, Caribo and
Fazenda Moreira.

According to provincial authorities, 1,698 persons from Damba and
Ngangassol gathering areas had been transported to their areas of origin
as of 21 January. The majority of ex-combatants and family members
returned to locations in Malanje Province, although approximately 200
returned to Bengo, Luanda, Kuanza Norte and Zaire Provinces. More than 700
persons from gathering areas in Kuanza Norte, Kuanza Sul, Lunda Norte and
Zaire Provinces have returned to Malanje Province. Lack of transportation
is hampering additional return activities.

The first Provincial Workshop on Human Rights Training, Evaluation and
Plan of Action was conducted on 12 - 14 February. Municipal
administrators, traditional authorities, provincial judicial and military
authorities and members of civil society attended the workshop.

Several health interventions have been carried out, including the
distribution of impregnated mosquito nets to populations in the Ngangassol
gathering area and a refresher course on reproductive health for 24 health
professionals.

Moxico Province: Health partners report a critical lack of essential drugs
and vaccines in the Cazombo hospital. The principal diseases registered
during 1,257 consultations in January included malaria (48 percent),
intestinal parasites (24 percent) and influenza (10 percent). Nutritional
and vaccination screenings of children returning from Zambia and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo continue and 20 activists are conducting
an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in neighbourhoods, markets and army and
police installations in Cazombo and the Calala gathering area. The crude
mortality rate in Calala during January was recorded at 0.1 deaths per
100,000 persons per day. Twenty cases of sexually-transmitted diseases
were reported.

On 5 - 6 February, provincial authorities transported 132 demobilised
personnel who had been living at the Cazombo airport to Huambo and Bié
Provinces. Twenty-seven more persons were transported to Luena on 14
February.  Demobilised personnel remaining at the airport have been
provided with plastic sheeting to construct temporary shelters.

Partners have rehabilitated three schools in Alto Zambeze, two schools in
Luau and one school in Lumbala Nguimbo. Teachers for the 5,000 school-age
children in Cazombo Municipality are still required.

Funds for demining operations are urgently required, particularly in areas
where large numbers of Angolan refugees are returning from Zambia and the
Democratic Republic of Congo, including Lumbala Nguimbo Municipality, and
the roads between Lumbala Nguimbo, Lucusse and Lumbala Kaquengue.

Uíge Province: More than 13,550 refugees returning from the Democratic
Republic of the Congo have reportedly arrived in Icoca, Cuango, Alto Zaza
and Kimbele town in Kimbele Municipality. These locations are currently
inaccessible to the humanitarian community due to logistical constraints.
Reports from local authorities and churches indicate that populations have
not received any assistance and are in need of non-food items and health
services.

The main road between Luanda - Uíge remains closed to humanitarian
partners due to the poor condition of the road south of Quitexe. The road
through Ndalatando remains open, although conditions north of Samba Cajú
are rapidly deteriorating. No direct route exists between Zaire and Uíge
Provinces, creating difficulties for partners with programmes in both
provinces.

Food assistance has been provided to approximately 14,000 persons in the
Uamba gathering area and 1,100 ex-combatants temporarily sheltered at the
Kituma transit centre in Uíge town. The ex-combatants in the overcrowded
transit centre have been transported from Bengo, Kuanza Norte and Zaire
Provinces and are waiting for resettlement kits before return to their
areas of origin.

Provincial authorities are working closely with NGOs to collect
information about areas where mine infestation is suspected. Awareness
activities have recently been conducted in Uíge town and Negage.

Provincial education authorities report that at least 60 percent of
students in grades 7 - 12 may not be able to enrol in school due to lack
of infrastructure.

Zaire Province: Facilities to receive large numbers of returning refugees
along the border near Luvo remain inadequate and populations must often
wait for up to three weeks before being transported to their areas of
origin. Partners have constructed and equipped a health post in Luvo.

An assessment mission to Kinzau commune in Tomboco Municipality identified
critical needs among the 6,844 persons in Mongo, Jambo and Sembo.
Approximately 1,500 families have recently received assistance.

Access to Noqui remains difficult due to a broken bridge over the Ponzo
River. Access is possible through the Democratic Republic of Congo,
although humanitarian partners are hesitant to use this route. The Madimba
gathering area was temporarily cut-off during the reporting period due to
poor road conditions.


OCHA Angola
  Av. Comandante Valódia 206 - 5 Andar, Luanda, Angola
  Tel. (244-2) 444 321 Fax. (244-2) 442 710



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