Highlights
An estimated 1.42 million people are affected (including 756,000 children) by the drought, including 800,000 people food insecure in the provinces of Cunene, Namibe and Huila. There are an estimated 95,877 Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) caseloads in the 7 most affected provinces, with 44,511 cases of SAM registered in the Provinces of Huila, Cunene and Namibe.
Since January 2016 a Yellow Fever epidemic has unfolded, with 1,501 suspected cases reported in the capital. Cases have now spread to other provinces. As result of a mass yellow fever vaccination campaign supported by WHO, UNICEF and partners, 5.8 million people have been vaccinated so far in Luanda. The limited availability of Yellow Fever vaccines on a global scale continues to be the main challenge in the yellow fever vaccination campaign.
UNICEF and partners are reaching 50,000 families and 150,000 children with an integrated package of food, vaccination, nutritional supplements, Health and WASH interventions. This includes support to Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) targeting 15,000 children with SAM in the 3 provinces of Cunene, Namibe and Huila. In addition, this intervention is complemented by the distribution of 18 tons of Emergency WASH supplies and the provision of more than 25,000 additional cartons of RUTF for the treatment of SAM.
Key figures (as of 7 April 2016)
- 1.4 million people affected by drought
- 756,000 children affected by drought
- 6.7 million at risk of Yellow Fever
- 3.45 million children at risk of Yellow Fever
- 95,877 children with SAM in the 7 most drought affected provinces
- 44,511 children with SAM in the 3 most drought affected provinces
- Funding Requirements US$ 21.5 million
Funding Gap 79% - UNICEF’s Child Protection and Education response remains underfunded with 0% of humanitarian funding needs met. UNICEF’s contribution to social mobilization in the wake of the Yellow Fever outbreak also remains critically underfunded.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Angola is prone to cyclical effects of climatic change which have resulted in recent months in severe droughts affecting a total of 11 provinces. Most affected are the three border provinces of Cunene, Namibe and Huila where UNICEF is focusing its interventions. This year the El Niño weather phenomenon has resulted in food production losses of nearly 90% and has left 800,000 people facing food insecurity. Undernutrition rates have doubled over the past six months from 2.8% SAM cases in June 2015 to now between 5%-7%, while GAM rates currently range between 15%-21%. Potable water access is concerning as people are using unclean water for consumption and cooking and are forced to share untreated stagnant water with animals, giving rise to the risk of diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases. The drought is exacerbating migratory movements of whole communities, including cross-border movements, which raises child protection concerns - from sexual abuse of girls exposed while walking long distances to fetch water to child labour and reduced school attendance. UNICEF is developing, with the Government of Angola, UN and NGO partners, a national Multi-Sector Response Plan to strengthen the immediate response, early recovery and reconstruction planning as well as implementation to address morbidity, mortality and disaster risk reduction in the areas of Health, Nutrition and Food security and WASH.
In January the National IHR Focal Point of Angola notified WHO of a Yellow Fever outbreak. The lack of vaccines in stock in country, the lack of vaccines at global level as well as organisational and logistical challenges on the ground were identified as main bottlenecks and hindered a quick initial response. The suspected infection spread is largely limited to seven provinces and concentrated in Luanda province. The total number of suspected cases is steadily growing and has reached 1,501, reported deaths have doubled in the last month to 218 with the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) slightly dropping from 16.7% to 14.5%. As of March, the number of vaccinated persons has almost doubled to 5,793,394 persons vaccinated in Luanda. Preparations for expanding the mass vaccination campaign with the arriving 3 million additional does of vaccines are now concentrating on the provinces of Huambo, Huila and Benguela, which together have reported over 300 cases and 47 deaths.