ReliefWeb

Over 1.8 million people have been affected by severe drought in Angola that’s left crops destroyed, water in short supply and food scarce. Prolonged dry spells have severely affected the five southern provinces of Namibe, Cunene, Kuando Kubango, Huila and Benguela.

Caritas Angola took part in an joint assessment trip to four municipalities in Namibe Province in early June, where staff found an estimated 250,000 people affected and 70 percent of crops destroyed. Families’ remaining stocks will not last until September. The greatest problem is currently access to water: most of the boreholes were not working and people have started to move in search of water and pasture for their cattle.

School meals have been a great way to complement the nutrition of children as families’ access to food decreases. Despite this, children are beginning to drop out of school because of the severity of situation.

Caritas Angola is using the national media to raise funds to help those affected and will look for international help in the coming days. Caritas Angola will hold a solidarity campaign for those affected by the drought on 23 June. The campaign is asking for donations of non-perishable food and drinking water, which will be used in the response to this emergency .