Huambo: Vulnerable communities in Huambo, the capital of Huambo Province, are expected to join the Kwenda Social Monetary Transfer program in 2026, ANGOP has learnt. Chimuma de Oliveira, the director of the Institute for Local Development (FAS) in Huambo province, disclosed the information on the sidelines of the 12th ordinary session of the local government, chaired by Governor Alfredo Pereira.
According to Angola Press News Agency, Oliveira stated that this is the second phase of the Kwenda program's implementation and that it will cover people with albinism, the elderly, young people, and children in situations of vulnerability, isolation, and social exclusion. He explained that the project includes creating and financing cooperatives and supplying agricultural inputs to promote productive inclusion, increased income, and the sustainability of beneficiary families.
The FAS director assured that the registration process will begin shortly, though he did not specify the exact number of families to be covered. He appealed to eligible families to participate and collaborate with field agents. Oliveira stated that from 2020 to the present, the Kwenda program has registered and provided assistance to 209,000 families in the Bailundo, Cachiungo, Ecunha, Londuimbali, and Mungo municipalities.
During that same period, he added, 21 cooperatives were created and financed, with a total investment estimated at 147 million kwanzas to strengthen the economic autonomy of the beneficiaries. The recently released official results of the 2024 General Population and Housing Census in Angola indicate that the province of Huambo currently has a population of 2.6 million people. Among the 17 municipalities that make up this region of the country, the municipality of Huambo is the most populous with an estimated 836,293 inhabitants.
The Kwenda Program, operated by the Social Support Fund (FAS), is an initiative of the Angolan government that aims to support families in situations of poverty and vulnerability. It aims to create support policies for vulnerable families and covers four components: monetary social transfers, productive inclusion, municipalization of social action, and a single social registry.
