ACT Alert: 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. (Reliefweb)
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 08:20:01 +0000
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