Summary: March 29, 2001: Commission earmarks €9 million in humanitarian aid for victims of the war in Angola (Brussels)
The European Commission has adopted an intervention plan covering 2001 to provide continuing humanitarian support for victims of the war in Angola. €9 million will be channeled by the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) through partner organizations operating in the country. The money will support humanitarian programmes in fields of health, nutrition, water/sanitation, emergency relief and air transport, working through various international organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations
(NGOs). Key objectives are to reduce mortality rates among the most vulnerable sections of the civilian population and to provide shelter and non-food items to the growing number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in need.
Angola has been affected by conflict for more than thirty years. In December 1998, four years after the signature of the Lusaka peace agreements, hostilities resumed leading to a serious worsening in the humanitarian situation of the population.
The military landscape changed in late 1999, following a major government offensive, which resulted in the recapture of several strategic UNITA strongholds. This development has not, however, made access to vulnerable groups any easier and there has been no noticeable improvement in the living conditions of millions of Angolans. Since 1998, more than a million new IDPs have been registered by humanitarian organizations and it is estimated that up to 3.7 million people require basic assistance
including food aid, shelter, medicines and other items essential for their survival.
Already in an advanced state of decay, the country's social structures, including the health and education systems, have deteriorated further.
ECHO has spent over €125 million in Angola between 1992 and 2000, mainly on health, nutrition, water and sanitation.
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