ReliefWeb

Highlights

• According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) conducted in July 2019 by Government and partners, more than 421,000 people are in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) or 4 (Emergency) food insecure in the 23 communes from three provinces surveyed (Cuando Cubango, Cunene & Huila). This number is expected to rise to 562,000 from October 2019 to February 2020.

• Results from SMART survey conducted in December 2019 Government and partners suggests a critical nutrition situation in 10 drought-most affected municipalities with global acute malnutrition and severe acute malnutrition rates reaching 12.9% and 1.7% in Cunene and 13.6% and 3% in Huila, respectively.

• UNICEF and partners screened 231,938 and referred and treated 31,284 children under the age of five for acute malnutrition.

• Angola has faced since May 2019, seven outbreaks of circulating Vaccine-Derived Polio Virus type-2 (cVDPV2) disease with 15 out of the country’s 18 provinces affected. With UNICEF technical and financial support focusing on communication and social mobilization, and mOPV2 vaccine management, 22 rounds of mOPV2 vaccination campaigns have been conducted, vaccinating over 5,316,999 children under five years of age.

SITUATION IN NUMBERS

421,174 People projected to be IPC levels 3 or 4 from October 2019 to February 2020 and in need of urgent assistance in the 23 communes assessed in Cuando Cubango, Cunene and Huila

231,938 Children under 5 years old in humanitarian situations screened for malnutrition

5.3 Million Children under 5 years of age vaccinated against Type 2 Polio Virus disease

54,733 People reached with access to safe water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene

25,000 Children to be reached through access to formal and non-formal primary education

8.7M People reached with life-saving and behaviour change messages, including polio prevention, WASH, and nutrition

Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs

The 2019 humanitarian landscape in Angola was complex in that the country faced multiple emergencies, from drought, food and nutrition insecurity to health emergencies, including the refugee crisis in Lunda Norte. An estimated 2.3 million people were reported to be affected by drought and in need of humanitarian assistance in 2019. In most parts of southern Angola, the rains failed throughout the year, with significantly less rains registered during the periods October 2018 to November 2019. Since the beginning of the rainy season in October 2018, until September 2019, less than 50mm of rain was registered in most parts of the southern provinces, including Cunene. This resulted in extreme deficits in satisfying the water needs of plants and livestock contributing further to a poor forecasting of the agriculture prospect for 2019-2020 season. More than 421,000 people faced food insecurity in the 23 communes surveyed through the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) conducted in July 2019. This number is projected to increase to nearly 562,000 by February 2020, with 50 per cent of communes classified as experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity. Latest evidences from SMART survey conducted in 10 municipalities of Huila and Cunene in December 2019 show a global acute malnutrition and severe acute malnutrition prevalence of 13.6% and 1.8% in Cunene and 14.6% and 3% in Huila, respectively. Throughout the year, affected populations have seen their livelihoods deteriorate significantly, and already fragile livelihoods are expected to worsen in the coming months due to poor harvests and limited food access during the lean season, with seven provinces currently considered the most affected by drought and most nutritionally vulnerable, namely Cunene, Huila, Namibe, Bie, Benguela, Cuanza Sul, and Cuando Cubango.

Reports of loss of livestock and family assets, increasing water scarcity, sharp rises in food prices in local markets, drops in school attendance, school closures and increasing child protection risks were consistent across drought-affected provinces. Health emergencies included high numbers of diarrhea cases reported in December in Cunene; measles; scabies; and polio outbreaks, with confirmed cases in ten provinces Lunda Norte (4), Huila (3), Cuanza Sul (17), Lunda Sul (1), Huambo (12), Luanda (6), Uíge (2), Moxico (2), Benguela (1) and Malanje (1). Angola faced seven circulating Vaccine-Derived Polio type-2 Virus (cVDPV) outbreaks since May 2019, the first of which was in the Lunda Norte Province (Cambulo district) bordering Kasai Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where cVDPV2 was also circulating in Kamonia District. As of 31 December 2019, a total of 85 cases had been confirmed in 14 of the 18 provinces, potentially affecting about 5 million children under five in 149 of the country’s 170 municipalities/districts. Beyond health and nutrition, the education sector was also negatively affected with the government estimating that 614 out of 887 primary schools in the in Cunene province alone were affected by the drought, negatively impacting the ability of approximately 150,000 children to regularly access quality education. In addition, following the spontaneous and voluntary repatriation of the DRC refugees in Lunda Norte, a residual caseload of 5,000 refugees remain and will continue to necessitate sustained support in WASH, Nutrition, Health, Education and Protection from UN agencies, Government and partners.

The statement of the 23rd Annual Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum (SARCOF) which forecasted for the period from October to December 2019 normal to above normal rains throughout most of Angola, with the exception of the north-western half of the country (normal to below normal rains) has been largely accurate. For the period from January to March 2020, Angola is expected to receive normal to above normal rainfall, except the south-western part of the country, which is likely to receive normal to below normal rains. Based on the forecasted rainfall for the two periods, the north-western half and south-western regions of Angola will likely be hotspots for continued humanitarian response associated with drought and insufficient rainfall.