Little Eugénio, one year old, arrived at the  Inpatient Nutrition Center (UEN) at Humpata Municipal Hospital, Huíla Province, with the typical symptoms of severe malnutrition: low weight, lack of appetite, sluggishness in movement and  swelling in the upper and lower limbs (called oedema). Dina, a 23-year-old young mother, feared for the life of her only son, who also had diarrhoea and had been complaining of stomach pain for a few days.

Angola has grappled with severe drought in the last five years. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this food insecurity, which saw entire families abandon their homes and livelihood in search of food and water as livestock and crops died off.

For years, nature has shown its wear and tear due to global warming, and as a result of that, disasters have become more and more frequent.

The south of Angola is one of the areas where traces of drought are desolating, as the country faces its worst drought in 40 years. Here, access to potable water would be a luxury for many, whose only option was to wait for rain in order to be able to reserve water for their own consumption and that of their animals.

World Vision International (WVI) in Angola is partnering with the Government of Angola to implement the PFSS (Programa de Fortalecimento do Sector Saúde). Working alongside the Ministry of Health and the Provincial Directorates of Health, Agriculture, Social Affairs, Women and Family; Culture, and Water, WVI Angola is implementing a multi-sectoral response to drought in Huila Namibe Cunene and Cuando Cubango Provinces

When the paediatric unit of the biggest hospital in Benguela was taken over by an avalanche of malnutrition cases needing immediate hospitalisation, World Vision set out to provide support to the most vulnerable children. Our assessment revealed that four out of every 10 children screened for malnutrition among more than 1,300 children aged between six and 59 months in the municipalities of Benguela, Caimbambo, Catumbela, and Ganda, were malnourished.