Angola

Angola is a resource rich country that has made substantial economic and political progress since the end of civil war in 2002. With a new reform-oriented government, Angola now has a window of opportunity to begin a period of more inclusive and sustainable growth that benefits people equally.

Apart from the humanitarian challenges that the country faces as the host of refugees and asylum seekers, food insecurity and undernutrition also remain serious public health problems and are driven by a range of factors including poverty, limited dietary diversity, poor sanitation and hygiene conditions, and gender inequality. The food security situation has been further exacerbated by drought in the southern part of the country in 2019. Angola’s agricultural resources remain underutilized, and the country is exposed to various risks related to climate change.

WFP works with partners in Angola to support the Government in the achievement of Zero Hunger and assist Congolese refugees in the province of Lunda Norte. Since March 2017, conflict between armed groups and inter-ethnic tensions in the greater Kasai region of DRC have caused an estimated 36,000 people to flee across the border into Angola. Following an official request for support from the Government in May 2017, WFP began providing food and nutrition assistance to refugees in coordination with UN and NGO partners. In 2019, many refugees decided to return to their home country, which reduced the number of people assisted by WFP. In 2020 WFP continues to work assisting about 6,500 vulnerable refugees every month so that they can meet their basic food and nutrition requirements.

To assist the Government in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2, in 2019 WFP and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on technical cooperation, including data and vulnerability analysis, food and nutrition security monitoring, strengthening the national school feeding programme and linking it to smallholder farmers, and nutrition support. Following up on that commitment, in July 2020 WFP Angola signed a MoU with the Government of Angola and the World Bank on multi-year technical assistance projects in the areas of school feeding, vulnerability analysis and early warning, and addressing malnutrition (currently worsening due to the socio-economic impact of COVID-19) in Luanda province.

What the World Food Programme is doing in Angola

Nutrition: WFP works with various government entities to reduce vitamin and mineral deficiencies in the Angolan population and prevent stunting among under 2 through food fortification, and production of specialized nutritious foods. In line with the recently signed MoU, WFP Angola will support provincial authorities of Luanda to improve quality and coverage of services for screening, detection, treatment and prevention of acute malnutrition among children under 5 years old.
Vulnerability assessment and monitoring: To promote inclusive and efficient food security analysis and reporting to be used for evidence-based planning and programming, WFP has been supporting the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in the preparation of food security and nutrition assessments. A dedicated team of WFP experts assists the Government in the gathering and analysis of food security data, as well as in the development of regular food security and nutrition reports to be disseminated throughout the country.
School feeding: In line with the recently signed MoU, WFP will work with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture and provincial and municipal governments to develop a school feeding plan for the four drought-affected provinces of Cunene, Huíla, Cuando Cubango and Namibe, based on locally produced and available foods. In parallel, WFP will support the Government of Angola to develop a National School Feeding Policy and establish a robust and effective monitoring and evaluation system.
Refugee assistance: With an operational presence in Luanda, Dundo and Lóvua, WFP is working closely with partners, including the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and World Vision International, to ensure that refugees from the DRC are able to meet their basic food and nutrition requirements, and to lay the foundation for more sustainable solutions.
Emergency preparedness and response: WFP plans to support national and sub-national authorities, including the Civil Protection office, on emergency preparedness and response, by strengthening their capacity to prepare and respond to shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic and recurrent droughts in the South of the country. WFP will support provincial authorities of Cunene, Huíla, Cuando Cubango and Namibe through the establishment of civil protection operational centres in the four provinces and relevant training of civil protection teams.