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ANGOLA: One of the worst places in the world for children

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

JOHANNESBURG, 8 May (IRIN) - Angola is one of the worst places in the world
to be a child. One child in three dies before the age of five and only 30
percent of those who survive ever make it to school, a new rights monitoring
group said on Wednesday.

A statement ahead of the launch of the Watchlist on Children and Armed
Conflict by several NGOs said that according to UNICEF, children in Angola
form more than half the population but little attention is paid to their
needs. There has been largely silence over the violations of their rights by
government and opposition armed forces during the war.

The protracted conflict, only recently halted by the 4 April ceasefire, will
have severe psycho-social repercussions for children and adolescents, most
of whom have never known peace. Many children exhibit trauma symptoms like
fright, insecurity, and disturbed sleep, the NGOs warned. Previous exposure
to violence puts them at a greater risk of future involvement in violence.

Although the war dominated headlines coming out of Angola, studies have
shown that more people have died from malnutrition, disease and poor water
and sanitation than direct conflict.

As the information flow opens up in Angola, an International Medical Corps
report said that Angolan children under five face a greater risk of poor
health than children anywhere else in sub-Saharan Africa.

Up to 70 percent of children are not registered which inhibits access to
health and other services where they are available. The health system has
been described as being "in a shambles after years of neglect."

Without trained attendants at birth, the infant mortality rate is reported
to be as high as 172 deaths per 1,000 births.

Immunisation rates in Angola are among the lowest in the world so
preventable diseases threaten children's lives. Malaria is the greatest risk
causing 50 percent of under-five deaths. Just over half of the children
under five in Angola are underweight.

Exact figures on HIV/AIDS are not available and beyond Luanda there are
shortages of testing kits, but at least 7,900 children are infected with the
virus. According to UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation an estimated
98,000 children under 15 have lost a mother or both parents to the disease
and about 62,000 children are AIDS orphans.

According to Oxfam, the 30 percent of Angolan children who do make it to
school have to put up with few resources and overcrowding. Up to 90 children
can be found in one classroom around Luanda. Of the children who do study,
only 34 percent reach grade five and only the elite have access to higher
education. Some children start late or leave early so that they can earn a
living.

The war has created large scale population upheavals and though the NGOs say
it is difficult to conduct accurate assessments, an estimated four million
people have been displaced - half of them children.

According to NGO interviews, of these children 82 percent are estimated to
have come under fire, and 56 percent had watched someone trigger a landmine.

Landmines in Angola particularly threaten women and young girls as they
forage for food and firewood. Some anti-personnel mines were often brightly
painted so children picked them up.

The war was not just something children watched. Angola's military law
established 20 as the minimum age of recruitment, but the low level of birth
registration exacerbated underage recruitment. The Coalition to Stop the Use
of Child Soldiers estimates that 3,000 children could be in the ranks of the
national army.

The UN Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA), OCHA, UNICEF, Amnesty
International, Human Rights Watch and the US Department of State all
reported the recruitment of children by rebel UNITA forces.

The demobilisation of about 8,500 child soldiers was halted by the
resurgence of war in 1998. By then an estimated 3,000 children had been
demobilised. By 2000 there was a noticeable increase in child recruitment by
both sides.

The watchlist comes as over 120 nations meet at a UN Special Session on
Children in New York until 10 May.

Olara Otunnu, the UN Special Representative for armed conflict and children,
was reported as saying this week that the three-day special session was
expected to work hard to mobilize international political will and public
opinion behind the protection, rights and well-being of the war-affected
children.

The watchlist aims to collect and publicise information on each country in
conflict so that decision makers can access key information on issues
affecting children, ranging from landmines to health matters.

So far it has profiled Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi and is working on
reports on the West Bank/Gaza strip and Israel, Sudan and the Democratic
Republic of Congo.

It will be launched on Thursday in conjunction with a UN Special Session on
Children panel discussion entitled 'Protecting Boys and Girls During Armed
Conflict'.

The steering committee includes Care International, Coalition to Stop the
Use of Child Soldiers, International Save the Children Alliance, Norwegian
Refugee Council, Women's Commission on Refugee Women and Children and World
Vision International.

More details: www.watchlist.org

[ENDS]

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