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Alert
Namibia & Angola
Severe drought in Namibia & Angola
Geneva, 10 June 2013
1. Brief description of the emergency and impact
Prolonged dry spells in Southern Africa have led to a food and water crisis in Namibia and Angola where the respective governments have called on the international community for support. In Angola the government convened a meeting with the United Nations and humanitarian actors on May 15th to appeal for support, whilst the President of Namibia declared a national drought emergency on May 17th calling for assistance from the international community. Figures by the meteorological service of Namibia show that parts of Namibia are experiencing the most severe drought in three decades. In Angola the government estimates that 640,000 people are affected by the drought. The United Nations has said this is an underestimate and the figure could be closer to one million, whilst Namibia estimates the food insecure to be at 330,925 which is 14% of the total population. The locations where the populations are most at risk in both countries are along the border between the two countries, including south of Windhoek in Namibia.
2. Why is an ACT response needed?
The Africa Regional Emergency Coordinator for the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is currently in Namibia to conduct an assessment with the churches to ascertain the impact of the emergency in their areas of operations. In Angola, the ACT members are beginning their assessment on Monday the 10th of June. These assessments will provide a clearer picture of the situation on the ground.
Namibia
From secondary data it is known that six regions of Namibia where a majority of the households rely on livestock production have been affected by drought, reducing pastures and water for drinking. These are Omaheke, Eronog, Kunene, Otjizondjupa, Karas and Hardap. The regions of Caprivi, Kavango, Oshikoto, Ohangwena, Omusati and Oshana are also affected. The 166 millimetres of rain measured at the headquarters of the meteorological service in Windhoek during the past rainy season (from October 2012 to April 2013) is the lowest seasonal rainfall total recorded at that weather station since the 1981/82 rainy season .
The Directorate of Disaster Risk Management (DDRM) of Namibia conducted an Inter Agency Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) from the 8-21 April. The results of this assessment indicate that extremely below average agricultural production can be expected as drought conditions intensify . Earlier in the year floods impacted northern Namibia, which is also one of the causes of the poor agricultural production. Besides the estimated 330,925 that are classified as food insecure a further 447,577 are classified as moderately food insecure. This means that 28% of rural households are food insecure, while 38% are moderately food insecure.
Angola
The drought is causing migration across provinces and in some cases people are crossing the borders to join relatives in Namibia looking for better conditions and job opportunities. A survey by the government of Angola on the drought at the start of 2013, reported 1,833,900 people were affected. The drought is affecting ten out of 18 Angolan provinces, namely Huila, Huambo, Cunene, Namibe, Bie, Kwanza Sul, Kwando Kubango, Moxico, Bengo and Zaire. Consequently, more than 533,000 children under five could suffer from malnutrition.
An ACT response is needed to curb harmful coping mechanisms. Children are made to drop out of school by their parents to take long distances to look for water and to graze their livestock. Some households are selling the few cattle they have in exchange for food. People are drinking whatever water they can access regardless of its fitness to drink, as boreholes dry out.
From communication with the Bishop Ndwanapo (ELCA) in Angola, 544,979 people are affected by the drought in Cunene alone. This is only one province of the ten that have been affected. This highlights the severity of the numbers that are affected by the drought in Angola and the dire need for a response before it is too late.
3. National and international response
Namibia
The government of Namibia is responding to the drought and has announced an emergency allocation of $20.7 million. The government has initiated response activities including the provision of food rations through regional councils and the drilling of 40 boreholes . Through a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Director for Disaster Risk Management, it was further made known that the government is rehabilitating water points in addition to drilling of additional boreholes. Seeds will be provided to affected farmers through the Ministry of Agriculture. A total of 92 metric tons will be availed including millet, maize and beans. These will be distributed in October before the next rainy season.
Safety net programs are being carried out including pensions and grants which are making a positive impact on livelihoods. Subsidies are being made available to communal farmers who sell their livestock as part of a destocking program to minimize the effects of the drought.
UNICEF is supporting the ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry to increase access to water through the provision of water storage tanks and water treatment chemicals.
The Namibian Red Cross will also be responding but it is not yet known how.
Angola
In Angola the government has set up an emergency inter-ministerial commission composed by the Ministries of Interior, Social Reintegration, Health, Agriculture, Family Promotion, and the Interior Department for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness (Civil Protection). This inter-ministerial commission is led by the President of the Republic, with funds allocated from the national budget.
Some international NGOs such as OXFAM GB and World Vision are also conducting assessments.
4. ACT Alliance response
In Namibia the response is planned to be through the Lutheran churches including the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Namibia and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Republic of Namibia. These churches will work closely with the Council of Churches of Namibia.
In Angola the ACT Forum members include Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), DanChurchAid (DCA), Bread for the World, CICA (Angola Christian Council), IERA (Evangelical Reformed Church). The response will be carried out through the ACT Angola Forum, including the Angolan Evangelical Lutheran Church, and other churches working closely with CICA. These actors will all work under the Coordination of LWF Angola which is the current leading Agency of the ACT Forum.
In both countries a rapid assessment will be conducted from the 10th June to feed into the preliminary appeals.
5. Planned activities
Planned responses in Namibia will be for the church to reach out to the most vulnerable that are not managing to access government food distributions. These might be supported through soup kitchens as well as through income generating activities (IGAs) and psychosocial support. In the long term the church will build the capacity of communities to better prepare for future disasters and to mitigate against the risks.
In Angola the ACT members plan to deliver emergency water and food distribution with possible cash intervention, to support people out of the reach of government and other humanitarian assistance programmes. Community emergency preparedness will be prioritized, developing local warning systems, organizing local communities to have more sustainable farming and environmental methods, such as introducing drought resistant crops.
6. Constraints
In order to respond meaningfully to the humanitarian needs in both Namibia and Angola, funding is urgently needed to begin the humanitarian response before the drought situation worsens.
Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to Jean-Daniel Birmele, Director of Finance (jbi@actalliance.org).
