Angola: Emergency Response & Recovery

Southern Angola is nowadays experiencing abnormal dryness affecting access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation and driving high malnutrition and food insecurity levels. It is estimated that 1.6 million people are now facing severe food insecurity due to climate shocks. This is a dramatic deterioration of the situation compared to the latest IPC analysis for the country (October 2019 to February 2020), which identified 561,836 people in Emergency or Crisis level (IPC 3 and above). PIN’s intervention will address the immediate WASH needs of vulnerable communities, women and children in particular, in municipalities of Chicomba, Chibia, Humpata and Gambos affected by prolonged drought emergency. The action aims to improve their access to safe water, hygiene supplies and adequate sanitation as well to enhance access to information about good hygiene and sanitation behaviors to facilitate their adoption. With the financial support from UNICEF, PIN contributes to reduced mortality and morbidity resulting from drought emergency in Huila province, Southern Angola.
 

With the aim of contributing to the reduction of morbidity and mortality of the most vulnerable population, PIN implemented an 11 month-long intervention to respond to sanitation and nutrition emergency, a result of chronic drought in the province of Bié. The multisector project provided support to approx. 65,000 people living in 91 villages in the municipalities of Kuito, Catabola and Chinguar.
In one component of the project, more than 6,200 children under the age of five were screened for malnutrition and referred to health units for treatment. In addition, health volunteers from local communities were trained to conduct the screenings and follow-up visits to the families of children with malnutrition, and to promote positive practices related to infant and young child feeding. Social mobilisers were additionally trained on the promotion of good hygiene practices, including hand washing, water management and purification, proper storage of food and water, etc., in order to multiply key messages in the communities and, in this way, positively influence people’s behaviour. These are important prevention measures, since it’s proven that sharing information about good hygiene and sanitation practices has a positive impact on the reduction of malnutrition cases caused by water-borne diseases and poor hygiene practices, such as diarrhoea and parasitic diseases. Furthermore, training courses based on the National Protocol were offered to health technicians, supporting their capacity to administer proper treatment, follow-up and evaluation, and to ensure that accurate data can be collected.
In line with the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach that has been successfully implemented by PIN for several years in Bié province, PIN staff in cooperation with mobilisers and municipal focal points also supported and monitored the process of construction of latrines by families – as per the standard CLTS line of action, communities themselves are responsible for the construction, using local materials available. In addition to that, approx. 1,500 hygiene kits were distributed to vulnerable families, with items like buckets, water purification tablets, soaps, sanitary pads and underwear. The priority group were women – heads of households, elderly, women with disabilities.
Awareness raising and distribution of hygiene kits have also been utilized in response to the 2020 Coronavirus outbreak.
 

As part of the humanitarian aid to Congolese refugees in the province of Lunda Norte in northern Angola, People in Need focuses on the area of ​​water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH), with which it has several years of experience in Angola. Together with the NCA and LWF partners, PIN is responsible for monitoring water quality and water tank installation as well as construction of latrines and showers in the villages within the refugee settlement. Moreover, campaigns about the risks of poor hygiene and preventive measures are being undertaken.
The follow-up project introduced the Children’s Hygiene and Sanitation Training (CHAST) approach for the existing child-friendly spaces to promote personal hygiene among children. The goal of the intervention is to prevent the emergence and spread of illnesses among refugees threatening their lives and further deterioration of already challenging situation.
Majority of the refugees has been already relocated from two reception centres and Dundo town to a settlement in Lóvua, where they were divided into small newly built villages. People in Need is using its experience with community approach to sanitation (Community Led Total Sanitation - CLTS) and Communitarian Water Management Model (MOGECA) which were successfully implemented as a part of development program in villages in the province of Bié in central Angola. Over 7,000 refugees have been already assisted thanks to this intervention.