from PEDRO AGOSTO in Luanda, Angola
LUANDA, (CAJ News) – THE worst drought in four decades has left millions of Angolans at risk of starvation and forced thousands into neighbouring Namibia.
Affected communities especially south of the country are caught between the devastating effects of climate change and the land diversion to commercial cattle farming, the latter which killed subsistence farming.
“This drought – the worst in 40 years – has torn through traditional communities who had been struggling to survive since they were dispossessed of vast swathes of grazing land,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa.
The activist said the Angolan government must take responsibility for its own role in the dire situation, and ensure reparations to affected communities, and to take immediate steps to address food insecurity in the rural areas of Cunene and Huíla provinces.
In May 2021, the World Food Programme (WFP) estimated that 6 million people in Angola had insufficient food, with food insecurity most prevalent in the south of the country.
It also noted that more than 15 million people are using crisis or emergency livelihood-based coping strategies, such as spending savings or reducing non-food expenses.
Angola has a total population of over 33 million people.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported that Namibian local authorities had recorded a total of 894 Angolan nationals in the Omusati and Kunene regions by March 2021.
In May 2021, Angolan NGOs reported that over 7 000 Angolans had fled to Namibia.
Angolan NGOs have referred to them as climate refugees.
– CAJ News