ReliefWeb

• Water trucking in Lóvua finishes at the end of May. The first of six boreholes to be drilled, finally reached water at 138 metres.

• Current Communicating with Communities interventions for the DRC refugees aim to build the capacity of leaders on key family competencies, conflict resolution and service management.

• Due to the expansion of Lóvua, many villages in the settlement are located far from the existing health centre. Another clinic will be built to improve the services delivery.

KEY FIGURES

77% of Congolese refugees from Kasai in Angola are women and children

35,501 Biometrically registered Congolese refugees in Lunda Norte Province. Total of 23,319 refugees are currently receiving food assistance.

50,000 Inter-agency planning figure for Congolese refugees by the end of the year.

Operational Context

The outbreak of violence in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in March 2017 triggered the internal displacement of some 1.4 million persons and the flight of over 35,000 refugees into Lunda Norte Province, Angola.
The Government of Angola (GoA) has an open door policy to welcome Congolese nationals fleeing as a result of the conflict. However new arrivals have significantly decreased since July 2017.
As the situation remains volatile in the Kasai region with rising numbers of internally displaced people, humanitarian agencies in Angola maintain the 2017 response planning figure of 50,000 refugees until end of December 2018. UNHCR is not currently facilitating voluntary repatriation of Congolese refugees from Lunda Norte Province to their country of origin.
The interagency humanitarian response for the Congolese refugees launched a new appeal for funding to cover the areas of protection, emergency shelter, livelihoods, food security and nutrition, non-food items, water, sanitation, hygiene, health including mental health, and education until the end of 2018.
Currently, 13,532 Congolese refugees (3,338 families) are residing in Lóvua settlement.