Overview

Unicef's commitment to Angola's children

© UNICEF Angola/2004 Elder

UNICEF has been present in Angola since 1976, a year after the country’s independence and the beginning of the conflict that devastated its economy, left vital infrastructure in ruins and the civilian population completely dependent on humanitarian aid.

During almost three decades of emergency UNICEF brought uninterrupted direct assistance and protection to millions of children and women affected by the hostilities and hundreds of thousands of displaced persons forced to flee their homes. 

With seven sub-offices throughout the country and a strong presence in Luanda, UNICEF was able to reach many of the most vulnerable areas and carry out a number of life-saving vaccination campaigns.

Despite the unrest, UNICEF and its partners helped hundreds of schools keep its activities running with educational material and teacher training. Safe water was supplied to settlements where thousands of displaced families sought shelter and protection activities enabled the reunification of separated families scattered all over the country. 

Today UNICEF maintains five field offices and employs 100 staff members to accompany the current transitional period in Angola. Following the end of the conflict in early 2002, its activities have progressively shifted from a direct service delivery approach to one centred on process facilitation and capacity building.

Angola’s Country Programme has been shaped by a number of studies and analyses. Two of the most important have been the 2001 Common Country Assessment (CCA) and the 2001 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). Together the CCA and the MICS provide a database on the socio-economic situation of Angolan children and women in the new millennium. The MICS, conducted as part of Government’s commitment towards the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, now serves as the principal indicator of Angola’s progress toward these crucial targets for children.  link to map of Angola with location of sub-offices

© UNICEF Angola/2004 Elder

2005-08 goals and expected results

The overriding goal of UNICEF's current program in Angola is to support the government’s commitment towards the realization and fulfilment of children’s and women’s rights.
The organisation aims to assist the government in defining realistic targets and strategies to address the needs of children and women, to be set out in the poverty reduction strategy and development plans.  Strengthening national capacities for revitalizing, and ensuring the provision of essential basic services to benefit children and women is also a primary objective for the next three years.

By 2008, UNICEF seeks to contribute to the following key results:
• a 50% reduction in under-five mortality,
• a 30% reduction in severe and moderate malnutrition among under-fives;
• a 30% reduction in maternal mortality;
• reach a primary net school enrolment rate of 75%; 
• promotion and support to the optimal development of children through integrated and improved care, nutrition, education, water and sanitation facilities and hygiene;
• prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS so as to maintain the HIV/AIDS sero-prevalence rate below 10% and provision of support and care for those affected by HIV/AIDS;
• strengthened national capacities for the protection of the rights of the children, including those at risk.

Achieving these results is a challenge that UNICEF and its partners will pursue through a number of strategies including: advocacy, capacity reinforcement, strengthening information collection systems, strengthening alliances and partnerships and participation.