Reporting Period: 1 January to 31 December 2021
Highlights
• ACO Humanitarian Action for Children was funded by 47 per cent in 2021.
• 41,532 children aged 6 to 59 months received treatment for severe wasting in UNICEF-supported nutrition facilities in 2021.
• UNICEF, WFP, and the Ministry of Health conducted four SMART nutrition surveys in Huíla, Cunene, Benguela and -Huambo in November 2021 (results of the surveys are informing programmatic priories for 2022).
• 198,515 people accessing sufficient quantity of safe water for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene.
Funding Overview and Partnerships
In 2021, limited humanitarian funding has significantly impacted UNICEF’s ability to upscale its humanitarian interventions to timely address the increasing need to expand beyond the traditionally chronic areas to new geographical locations. ACO humanitarian interventions in 2021 were funded by 47 per cent, of which only 30 per cent accounts for funding received in 2021 and the remainder, 17 percent, being carry forward from 2020. While the HAC was significantly underfunded, non-emergency funds had to be used, including regular resources to meet pressing humanitarian needs in the county.
Major funding contributions to the implementation of UNICEF’s humanitarian action for children (HAC) in 2021, include CERF, ECHO, Banco Fomento de Angola, Government of Japan, USAID-PMR, and GHT. However, critical funding gaps have undermined the expansion of interventions in Cunene, Huila, and Namibe. Based on Government reports, nutrition data and WFP reports, the situation in Benguela, Huambo, and Cuanza Sul deteriorated compared to the previous year with projected scenarios for 2022 indicating a further worsened food security and nutrition situation.
Adequate humanitarian funding is critical for UNICEF to deliver on its Core Commitments to Children (CCCs) in humanitarian situations and support timely implementation of its HAC. Without adequate funding, UNICEF’s ability to provide a full nutritional basket to the most vulnerable children is compromised. UNICEF’s ability to implement multisectoral, time-critical and life-saving interventions in the areas of nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, health, education, and child protection, including gender-based violence services is also challenged. In 2021, ACO had established partnerships with CSOs, including World Vision Angola, People in Need, MENTOR, ADRA; and collaboration with WFP to implement sectoral interventions.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Angola is experiencing the worst drought in 40 years. Since January 2021, an estimated 3.81 million people have been reported to have insufficient food consumption in the six southern provinces of the country, namely Cunene, Huíla, Namibe, Huambo, Benguela and Cuanza Sul. This is an increase of 138 per cent compared to 1.6 million people who faced food insecurity in 2020. Proxy Global Acute Malnutrition prevalence rates have increased from 9.8 per cent in 2018 to over 20 per cent in 2021, above emergency thresholds. Severe wasting increased in the southern provinces of Huila, Cunene and Namibe with levels reported in 2020 being 55 per cent higher than those in 2018. Admissions of children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) between January and November 2021 surpassed total admissions in 2020 in Huila, Cunene and Namibe by almost 10,000 children.
An IPC Acute Food Insecurity analysis of 17 municipalities of Southern Angola found that between July and September 2021, around 1.32 million people (49% of the analysed population) have experienced high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above), of which 38% are in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) and 12% in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency). Between October 2021 and March 2022, the number of people in IPC Phase 3 or above is expected to rise to around 1.58 million people (58% of the analysed population), of which 42% are likely to be in IPC Phase 3 and 15% in IPC Phase 4. According to the IPC Acute Malnutrition analysis of 10 municipalities in Southern Angola, around 114,000 children under the age of five are suffering or likely to suffer from acute malnutrition in the next 12 months and therefore require treatment.
The drought conditions continued to have negative impact on many sectors throughout the year, including water, sanitation and hygiene, education and child protection, leading to internal displacement and cross-border migration, particularly to Namibia. By November 2021, over 3,200 cross-border migrants (1,784 children, 630 women) were reported in Etudanda Camp in the Omusati Region of Namibia with just under 400 outside the camp. In addition, there were also reports of internally displaced persons from Cunene and Huíla (Cahama, Xangongo, Kalueque, and Ombala- Ya-Mungo and Gambos) with Government latest reports indicating the number of IDPs to be over 15,000 people (10,204 children).
Over 1.2 million people are facing water scarcity because of the drought and will have their water, sanitation and hygiene conditions compromised. Data collected by UNICEF from provincial education authorities in June 2021 suggest that 8.3% of students in Namibe, 20.1% of students in Huila, and 69.1% of students in Cunene have experienced reduced access to schools due to the drought. In part, the reduced school attendance was because many pastoralist families took their sons out of school to travel longer distances in search of green pasture and water. In addition, many girls are removed from school to cope with the additional burden of domestic work, including help their mothers fetch water, often walking long distances and facing long queues. In focus group discussions with school communities in Ombadja, Cunene in June 2021, caregivers and teachers consistently noted that the lack of food and access to water made it difficult for many children to attend school.
In addition, COVID-19 imposed restrictions further impacted livelihoods leading to loss of family income, increased risks of violence, including domestic, gender-based violence, while at the same time heightening child protection concerns. The capacity of the health and nutrition services to cope with increased demand for services has been further stretched because of COVID-19. By 30 December 2021, Angola had reported a cumulative number of 79,871 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 13,827 (17.3 per cent) active cases and 1,764 deaths (2.2 per cent). The humanitarian landscape was complex in that the country dealt with multiple emergencies and challenging in that the HAC was inadequately funded to support timely lifesaving and multisectoral interventions.
Source: UN Children’s Fund