ANGOLA: Head count holds back refugee registration, and food

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

JOHANNESBURG, 15 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Refugees returning to their home province of Bié in central Angola will have to wait for a head count before they can be registered and get access to food aid.

A discrepancy in the numbers provided by the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, and the Angolan Ministry of Assistance and Social Reintegration (MINARS), has meant the registration process has had to be temporarily suspended pending an inquiry.

"In this context, the World Food Programme (WFP) in coordination with MINARS decided to conduct a verification exercise to assess the situation and determine why there were such disparities between the numbers," WFP spokesperson, Manuel Cristovao, told IRIN.

When refugees leave UNHCR camps in Zambia and Namibia, where most of these returnees come from, they fill out a card that states their destination within Angola.

According to an aid worker, "These cards are used to determine the numbers and one suspicion is that returnees change their destination during the trip back depending on additional information they get during the trip. They might find out that their family has moved to Bié or that the situation there has improved."

The problem was identified in mid January, and according Cristovao, "the situation will be resolved this week so that registration of new arrivals can continue".

As new arrivals wait for the results of the investigation, WFP will continue to provide assistance to 54,300 returnees. "These returnees are still receiving food assistance and will continue to do so until they reap their first harvest and it is confirmed that they are self sustainable," Cristovao commented.

MINARS, with provincial government help, will provide assistance to the waiting refugees for the duration of the verification exercise.

WFP carried out a survey last year in the rural areas of the central highlands region – which includes Bié - believed to the most food insecure region of the country.

The survey revealed that 335,000 people are food-insecure, while 512,000, about 50 percent of the rural population, were highly vulnerable to food insecurity.

As conditions improve throughout the rest of the country, WFP has concentrated on the central highlands and the remote provinces of Moxico in the east and Cuando Cubango in the south.

Cuando Cubango and Moxico are plagued by "serious access problems caused by the danger of landmines, destroyed bridges and poor road infrastructures", said Cristovao.

However, WFP's operations have been hampered by lack of donor support. "In 2004 WFP received US $85 million while in 2005 only $20 million was donated," said Cristovao.

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