Recent flooding
in Luanda, Benguela and other western Angolan provinces have resulted
in the deaths of some 90 people and have contributed to a worsening
cholera outbreak.
The members of
ACT in Angola are coordinating their responses under the umbrella
of the ACT forum.
As the rains are
expected to increase between the end of February and early April,
the ACT forum, which met with church leaders and other NGOs on January
26, requested groups from member organisations that are trained in
emergency preparedness, to assist with water treatment and sanitation
measures to help communities in hygiene practices such as the handling
of waste.
The ACT forum—the
Reformed Evangelical Church of Angola (IERA), Norwegian Church Aid
(NCA), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Angolan Council of
Christian Churches (CICA), Christian Aid (CA) and DanChurchAid
(DCA)—has so far identified mosquito nets, food, tents, chlorine,
iron sheets, domestic kits and clothes as needed immediately by people
affected by the floods.
Luanda, the capital
of the oil-rich country that is emerging from a 27-year civil war,
has been hardest hit, especially in areas where former internally
displaced persons (IDPs) live in fragile shelters without sanitation
facilities and that offer no protection.
According to the
ACT forum, thousands of IDPs are receiving humanitarian assistance
at predefined reception centres in three areas that have been most
affected in Luanda.
A report by the
Government of Angola, posted to Reliefweb, puts the number of families
left homeless by the floods at 10,0000 in Luanda. The government reports
that it has started accommodating people in shelter camps that it
has set up.
The National Council
for Emergency has also set up measures to respond to the situation
and has called on the public, humanitarian agencies and civil organisations
to provide humanitarian assistance.
The Government
has also undertaken to help families to bury family members. Recovery
brigades made up of firemen, air-force and police members are still
recovering bodies.
Cholera cases
have surged to serious levels in Luanda, Huambo and Benguela, mainly
due to people not having access to clean drinking water or to sewage
facilities.
More than 500
cases have been diagnosed in Huambo, with 40 deaths reported and 19
patients still under care in hospital. Hundreds of cases have also
been identified and treated in the local medical units.
The floods have
also damaged roads and bridges, making communication in some areas
difficult. Work continues to replace bridges, while communication
is slowly being restored.
The ACT forum
is currently gathering more information in the affected areas and
will be submitting a proposal detailing the members' response soon.
The flooding has
not been confined to Angola. In Mozambique, heavy rains have
made many roads impassable, isolating district capitals from outlying
localities. The situation according to Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
Mozambique representative Philip Wijmans, is still under control,
but if rains continue, he believes here will be more widespread flooding.
The Mozambique ACT forum, which met on January 30, is monitoring the
situation.
In Zambia,
ACT members Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Zambia and the
Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) have been in contact
with the Government's Disaster Management Unit (DMU) regarding details
of floods in the country. The DMU is compiling a consolidated report
from all parts of the country that will be shared with all the stakeholders
this week still.
The ACT forum
in Zambia—DCA, NCA, LWF Zambia and CCZ—is monitoring the situation
closely.
