Refugees to be fed for another year

THE United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has extended its operation to provide food assistance to around 6 000 refugees and asylum seekers in the Osire refugee camp in central Namibia until the end of 2007.

The programme will provide monthly food rations for all the inhabitants of the camp, which houses around 4 700 Angolans and hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and other African countries. “We had hoped that most refugees would have left Osire by now and that WFP’s support would no longer be required, especially as the situation in Angola continues to improve,” said John Prout, WFP’s Country Director in Namibia.”However, thousands of people are still living in the camp and still in need of assistance and WFP is committed to helping them for as long as necessary.”WFP has been providing food aid to refugees in Namibia since 2000, when over 20 000 people fled across the northern border after a major upsurge of fighting in Angola.The number of refugees began to fall following the end of the Angolan civil war in 2002 but thousands of people are still unwilling to return voluntarily until after national elections, which have been postponed indefinitely.The current programme will cost US$630 000 (N$4,58 million at yesterday’s rate) and donations were urgently required to ensure that all the refugees receive their monthly food rations throughout the year.”WFP is hopeful that donors will fully fund this operation but it has become harder and harder to attract sufficient resources for our refugee programmes over the past few years,” said Prout.”There is an urgent need to find a way to help these remaining refugees become self-reliant if there are reasons which prevent them from voluntarily repatriating.”WFP’s refugee programme is conducted in conjunction with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.”We had hoped that most refugees would have left Osire by now and that WFP’s support would no longer be required, especially as the situation in Angola continues to improve,” said John Prout, WFP’s Country Director in Namibia.”However, thousands of people are still living in the camp and still in need of assistance and WFP is committed to helping them for as long as necessary.”WFP has been providing food aid to refugees in Namibia since 2000, when over 20 000 people fled across the northern border after a major upsurge of fighting in Angola.The number of refugees began to fall following the end of the Angolan civil war in 2002 but thousands of people are still unwilling to return voluntarily until after national elections, which have been postponed indefinitely.The current programme will cost US$630 000 (N$4,58 million at yesterday’s rate) and donations were urgently required to ensure that all the refugees receive their monthly food rations throughout the year.”WFP is hopeful that donors will fully fund this operation but it has become harder and harder to attract sufficient resources for our refugee programmes over the past few years,” said Prout.”There is an urgent need to find a way to help these remaining refugees become self-reliant if there are reasons which prevent them from voluntarily repatriating.”WFP’s refugee programme is conducted in conjunction with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.