Ms Karol Balfe:

I thank the committee and the Chairman for this opportunity to update the Government on the urgent situation in Angola. Christian Aid does not engage in direct advocacy towards the government of Angola. We have a partnership model and work entirely through supporting the work of local partners. We come here with our partners' concerns but, prior to speaking for them, it is important that I clarify for committee members the political and economic context in Angola. It is not possible to understand the reason behind the current humanitarian crisis and the failure to deal with it adequately without first understanding the political and economic context. I will draw on research from organisations such as Global Witness, Human Rights Watch, the US State Department and Transparency International to highlight some of the concerns about politics and the economy in Angola.

Since the end of the long and brutal civil war in 2002, the Angolan economy has, on paper, been one of the most successful in the world. This is largely down to its oil revenue, which peaked in 2008 and is expected to run until 2025. It will give the Angolan government a vast source of revenue for urbanisation and infrastructure projects. The World Bank has stated that economic growth in Angola is very dependent on oil but to date it has not created the necessary local employment. Organisations such as Transparency International and Human Rights Watch have consistently highlighted the high levels of corruption that exist in Angola. Along with this are allegations that billions of dollars are missing from state accounts. This corruption is directly linked to the dependency on oil, the legacy of the political relations of the civil war and the high concentration of political power. These reports show that in a country with an economic growth rate which is consistently among the top three countries globally, Angolans should no longer suffer from the food insecurity and vulnerability to shocks that we see today.

Angola has persistent and widespread poverty, which we see through the social indicators of the UN Development Programme, UNDP, particularly with regard to alarming figures for life expectancy, poverty and child and maternal mortality and poor access to services. Angola is one of the worst countries in the world with regard to many of these indicators. It follows that Angola is a very unequal country. Put very simply, the large wealth in the country does not benefit the majority of citizens in Angola. This legacy of the war has a particular impact for people living in rural areas, particularly women. The pace of mass migration to urban areas means that a large proportion, 30%, of households are headed by women, and these are particularly vulnerable.

Food price increases are among the highest in Africa, and this disproportionately affects poor families. Much of the country is heavily dependent on imported products. In the first nine months of 2013, $3.6 billion was spent on imported food and drink. This contrasts with the history of Angola with its abundance of natural resources and agricultural products. There have been some signs of economic diversification and an increase in food production, but smallholder subsistence farmers experience high levels of absolute poverty. A total of 85% of the labour force works in agriculture, but only 10.2% of the country's GDP comes from agricultural production. A major factor in the persistence of poverty in Angola is the lack of basic infrastructure and services for poor people, particularly in health, education, water and sanitation.

The UN special rapporteur on human rights has highlighted the fact that issues regarding land rights and security of tenure have a very serious impact on rural populations in Angola. Despite the low population density and the vast areas of arable land, rural smallholders and pastoralists often have restricted access to the land they need to grow crops or to get water for their cattle. This insecurity of tenure increases the risk for the rural population. This is particularly an issue for women, as discriminatory inheritance laws and customs make them even more vulnerable. A strong national drive to attract foreign investment in agricultural land is increasing the risks for smallholders and pastoralists.

President dos Santos has ruled Angola for 35 years. Two elections followed the end of the civil war, both of which resulted in majorities for the ruling MPLA. A number of organisations have observed that this has resulted in a consolidation of power. The impact of this on the country's economy and on ordinary Angolans is profound. A thread of authoritarianism has prevailed since the colonial era. This was exacerbated by the civil war and persists today. It is widely recognised that government institutions are hierarchical, with few opportunities for citizens to engage and influence policy and practice at local, national or municipal level.

Christian Aid has been working in Angola since the 1980s. Initially we provided humanitarian assistance and dealt with food insecurity. We support, entirely through local partnership, seven civil society and faith-based organisations working in Angola in humanitarian and development work. Development funding to Angola has decreased seriously since the end of the civil war. There is a prevailing view that Angola's wealth should be used for its own development. Christian Aid believes that given the levels of poverty, inequality and marginalisation in Angola today, there is a vital role for organisations such as ours to support local partners in responding to humanitarian crises and to try to transform the power structures which keep people poor and marginalised. Our Irish Aid funding allows us to work with civil society to try to create long-term peace and security, work on gender equality and the promotion of human rights, promote access to land and promote housing rights. We also work on resource management and climate change adaptation.

In the face of the initial failure of the Angolan government to acknowledge the scale of the humanitarian crisis, Christian Aid partners played a pivotal role in drawing awareness to the extent of the crisis and the urgent need for action. Our allies and partners held a conference where members from the drought-affected communities met Angolan parliamentarians, UN relief organisations and other influential bodies which could respond to the drought. This was seen as pivotal in creating change and building momentum. There have been prolonged dry spells in southern Africa since 2011, which have led to the crisis in southern and central Angola. This slow-onset emergency of drought, food insecurity and health problems needs to be addressed urgently before a greater disaster unfolds. It has been exacerbated by a lack of rain for two consecutive years. There has been some rain in 2014, which has brought some relief, but this relief is only short-term because the affected communities still have not received the food distribution or seeds which are so desperately needed.

Climate change is having an impact on the drought in Angola. Angola has not been as starkly affected as its neighbours Malawi and Zimbabwe, but between 1960 and 2006 there was a 1.5°C increase in temperature and a 2 mm decrease in rainfall, all of which has an impact on drought-affected areas. Approximately 1.8 million people in ten of the 18 provinces have been affected by the drought, largely because of the decrease in agricultural production.

The total number of acutely malnourished children is estimated at 533,000. The situation is even more critical in the southern region of the country, where about 57% of the total population of these provinces are affected by the drought. The reduced rainfall in 2012 and 2013 decreased the availability of seeds for the year's crop and has contributed to a deterioration of livestock. Poor sanitation and lack of access to drinking water are critical issues. In November 2013 there was an outbreak of cholera in the region, with 2,000 cases of cholera resulting in 48 deaths in a two-week period. There is also increased prevalence of malaria, measles, diarrhoea and respiratory tract infections. Basic food prices have increased in a country where food prices are already expensive for poor people. Food is now scarce and consumption patterns are changing. In those areas that are getting assistance, children are receiving two meals a day, but in other areas this is not the case. Pregnant and lactating women have less access to food and this weakens maternal and child health in the affected population, even those who are being supported.

There is a serious reduction in the availability of drinking water. The decrease means that people have between three and seven litres of water per day, far below the recommended 20 litres per person. There is a lack of pasture for fodder and livestock, resulting in a reduction in cattle prices. The social impact of that means that people are trying to move to urban areas or move between rural areas, increasing tension between cattle pasturing areas. As I have mentioned, rural women are badly affected by this drought.

There has been some response to this crisis. It was recognised that the Angolan government was slow to respond. International relief agencies such as UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization began responding in 2012. The government appealed for assistance in 2013 and Christian Aid is part of an appeal by ACT Alliance, a network that we are with, for emergency aid to tackle the food and water shortages that currently exist.

Let me now outline the recommendations that Christian Aid makes to the Government. We recognise the responsibility of the Angolan government and encourage international actors to work with it. We believe the Government can play a critical role. There is an immediate role in using our membership of the European Union, the UN and other bodies to push the Angolan government to seek more humanitarian assistance, to ensure it works with international relief organisations and to ensure that local civil society and communities that have been affected by the drought are involved in these relief operations.

There is another important opportunity for the Government. Christian Aid has very much welcomed our membership of the Human Rights Council as an endorsement of our important work on human rights globally. The Angolan government will be submitting its national report to the Human Rights Council through a mechanism known as the Universal Periodic Review. It is an opportunity for the Government to highlight the devastating impacts of the drought and to urge the Angolan government to take action.

Ireland has always played a strong role and is committed to tackling gender inequality. This is part of our work in One World One Future through Irish Aid, but we have also prioritised gender equality in other work. We believe there is scope for the Government, through the UN, the EU and other mechanisms, to ask the Angolan government to ensure that gender analysis features in its work on rural community development, climate adaptation and agricultural reform. As has been highlighted, the role of women is critical in building long-term and sustainable development in Angola.

We urge the Government, through its work on human rights and in particular its support for human rights defenders globally, to continue to support the vital and difficult work that human rights defenders in Angola do in securing land rights on forced evictions, but also access for smallholder farmers and pastoralists to agricultural land.

We urge the Government to continue to support civil society organisations working in Angola. The severity of this humanitarian crisis highlights the need for urgent humanitarian action within Angola. At the heart of the crisis is the need for Angola to ensure that all the citizens of the state play a part in the development of its natural resources so that they can become full and proper citizens of Angola.