Eight years after the end of the 27-year civil war, gradual progress towards a peaceful environment has been made in Angola , including the return of millions of refugees and internally displaced people. However, the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the country's extensively-destroyed physical, social and economic infrastructure remains a national challenge.
Despite the efforts being made, it will take many years before recovery activities can come to an end. Angola ranks 143 out of 182 countries in the 2009 Human Development Index with 70 percent of its population living on less than US$2 per day. Many communities have little or no access to basic social services, while more than a third of children are not enrolled in school.
The country also has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world at 116 per 1,000 live births. Though the HIV prevalence rate is considerably lower than elsewhere in the region, it is estimated to be about 2.1 percent and growing. Despite ongoing road and railway rehabilitation, logistical constraints persist, such as damaged roads and bridges, limited functioning of railways and the presence of landmines.
These infrastructural challenges continue to obstruct the free movement of goods and people and impede socio-economic recovery. Agricultural production is gradually improving in parallel with road infrastructure rehabilitation. However, it is still going to be a long-term process for Angola to achieve its pre-independence levels of production. Meanwhile, many people remain extremely vulnerable and trapped in a cycle of poverty and malnutrition.
After providing vital food assistance to the people of Angola for 30 years, throughout the civil war, WFP phased out its assistance operations in Angola in August 2009 . Donors believe that the government should be putting more of its own financial resources (from its oil, gas and mineral revenues) towards social services and this led to a serious funding problem for WFP.
WFP remains committed to helping the government support the country's most vulnerable people but the agency has shifted from predominantly food assistance to capacity development. Key areas under discussion with the government in relation to capacity development include assisting with the design of a national school feeding programme, helping to review the country’s food and nutrition policy and encouraging the government to adopt food fortification standards using WFP’s experience and expertise.
