Help us to complete OneWorld Guides
Some developing countries are missing from our range of Country Guides. OneWorld wants to fill these gaps but we need financial help. If there is a country that you would especially like to see included, then you could make it happen...... find out more

Millennium Development Goals

Angola signed the UN Millennium Declaration in 2000 but the standard framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) presents logistical difficulties. The civil conflict that wrecked the country for almost three decades ended only in 2002, twelve years after the start of the MDG assessment period. Even now, human development data is considered to be unreliable and a full census is planned for 2010.

MSF treatment in Angola © Juan Carlos Tomasi

Uncertainties over data do not however mask the reality that poverty in Angola is severe nor that the country is unlikely to achieve any of the MDGs at the current rate of progress, regardless of the basis of assessment. Over 60% of the population lives under the poverty line with over 25% in the more serious category of extreme poverty. Barely 50% of women are literate and measures of the Gini coefficient confirm that inequality is rising.

Nevertheless the two MDG reports for Angola published in 2003 and 2005 show that progress has been made since the end of the civil war in areas such as increasing primary school attendance, reducing child mortality, and improving access to water. Children attend school and are encouraged to do so, but the quality of public school teachers is extremely poor and there are scarce efforts to commit the necessary investment in education.

Education in Angola

Difficulties for education and socio-economic development in general have been compounded by the flux of population caused by the civil war – estimates suggest that 5 million people were internally displaced and that up to 400,000 refugees have latterly returned from countries such as Zambia and DRC. Effective reintegration is hampered by the reluctance of people to return to their villages of origin and reduce the overwhelming pressures on the capital city, Luanda.

Health and HIV/AIDS

Uige Hospital, Angola © Médecins Sans Frontières Canada

The need for improvement in health indicators cannot be overstated. Rates of child and maternal mortality in Angola are amongst the highest in the world with less than 25% of births in 2003 attended by a qualified health worker. Malaria is the major cause of child mortality, with very low use of protective bednets. Overall life expectancy is only 41 years.

At the end of the civil war 45% of children under the age of five suffered from chronic malnutrition. As rural areas continue to depend largely on subsistence agriculture, food security is far from certain and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) includes Angola in its regular reports.

Cholera in Angola

New health risks are emerging in Luanda, whose infrastructure is unable to cope with millions of poor Angolans pouring into the city in search of work. Non-existent sanitation and waste disposal led to outbreaks of cholera during 2006, often aggravated by flooding – the World Health Organisation reports over 3,000 deaths out of 70,000 cases throughout Angola.

Although the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Angola at 3.7% is lower than the overall African average, the real extent of the epidemic remains hidden to statistics. HIV infection is diagnosed only in Luanda, while data for the rest of the country is very difficult to gather due to the poor or even non-existent health facilities, especially in the countryside. The common belief that deaths in the civil war have led to a shortage of men increases the incidence of unregulated polygamy and rape, reflecting a lack of cultural or social institutions which protect the health and social status of women. This in turn facilitates the infection of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. With the added risks of high mobility of returning refugees and internally displaced people, it is very unlikely that the Goal to reverse the trend of HIV prevalence will be achieved. On the other hand, there is apparent commitment from both government and civil society to establish the necessary structural response to the MDG challenge.
Economy

Angolan children © Intermón Oxfam

The poor state of healthcare in Angola needs to be placed in the context of the enormous potential wealth of the country’s natural resources. Angola is the second highest African oil exporting country after Nigeria and is also one of the world’s largest diamond producers - with both industries capable of increasing their output. Together with other natural resources such as iron ore, phosphates, copper, bauxite and uranium, Angola should be one of the richest countries of the African continent and even the world.

However these riches have so far created as much damnation as salvation for the country and its population. The government is notorious in its lack of transparency over oil revenues which could rise as high as $30 billion in 2007. Angolan diamonds were known to be the currency fuelling the civil war and continue to be associated with corrupt practice.

The economy is predominantly export-focused, at the expense of agriculture and infrastructure development – the staggering estimate of over 30% for economic growth in 2007 may not therefore necessarily benefit the overall population nor the increasing numbers of returning refugees in search of homes and employment. A national Development Bank has however been established with the task of investing a percentage of oil revenues in diversification of the economy but there are already concerns about its governance.
Politics

These concerns about accountability for distribution of Angola’s resources were brought into focus by a recent report which found that the seven richest individuals in Angola are all members of the government. Mechanisms which might force higher standards of governance are more easily cast aside by the power of oil – routine IMF advice on economic management has been rejected whilst massive infrastructure finance is provided by China with few questions asked.

Politics in Angola is shaped by forces involved in the long civil war which started at the time of independence from Portugal in 1975. Both the Marxist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) fought against the Portuguese before turning on each other, the MPLA as the party of government (in control of oil) and UNITA as rebels in the south of the country (in control of diamonds). After an estimated 300,000 deaths, the civil war ended with the death of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi in 2002. The MPLA leader Jose Eduardo dos Santos has been president since 1979.

Since the end of hostilities, elections have been announced and postponed several times, the official reason being the difficulty for the state to complete the process of voter registration. There are indeed logistical problems caused by unreliable population data but there is concern that the ruling party MPLA has too much control over the electoral process as a means to stay in power and establish itself as the only possible governing force. The opposition (represented mainly by UNITA under its leader Isaias Samakuva) has either been co-opted into the power establishment or is fragmented and weak, posing an ever-decreasing threat to the position of MPLA. Party affiliation still tends to be determined by ethnic and historical reasons rather political ideas and programs. At present parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2008 and presidential for 2009. It is not entirely clear whether Dos Santos intends to stand.
Information and Media

Journalist Rafael Marques © Digital Freedom Network

There are virtually no free media in Angola. The only television channel is controlled by the government while the few “independent” papers struggle on the fine line between expressing their views and being charged with “offending” public security and the state. Radio Ecclesia, the only independent radio station, is allowed to transmit in Luanda but has for many years been denied authorization to transmit in the rest of the country. Although equipment and staff are ready, administrative barriers keep making transmission impossible.

The Angolan journalist Rafael Marques has been jailed several times for criticizing the government and is ultimately able to make his voice heard only from exile. A new law proposed for press freedom will introduce some improvement but has been criticized as falling short of international standards.
Conflict

The Cabinda region is potentially the richest area of Angola (especially in oil resources) and, over recent years, separatist groups led by the Front for the Liberation of Cabinda (FLEC) have been fighting government forces for independence. In August 2006 agreement was reached between the Angolan government and a former leader of FLEC, Antonio Bento Bembe, who signed on behalf of the Cabinda Forum for Dialogue (FCD) a group seeking to unite various factions. The agreement offers a degree of autonomy for the region, a greater share of oil wealth and amnesty for fighters but it has not been accepted by all armed groups of the region. There is currently a presence of 30,000 government soldiers in Cabinda, making up 10% of the region’s population.
Landmine Clearance

The civil war created one of the world’s most serious landmine legacies, threatening lives and impeding the development of agriculture. Over 400 square kilometres are affected by up to 4 million landmines and there are believed to be over 70,000 survivors of landmine accidents. Clearing minefields to protect local communities is the focus of much assistance from international NGOs and the government has cooperated by destroying its own stockpile of mines. However, progress is slow – the head of UNDP in Angola recently suggested that it will take 130 years to rid the country of the danger.



Sandra D'Onofrio worked in Angola in 2004-05 for the Project for Social Reintegration of War Orphans organised by the Diocese of Benguela. She has an MSc in Anthropology and Development from the London School of Economics and is currently working for a search engine marketing company in London

---------