Angola

Johannesburg/Brussels/Kinshasa, December 5th, 2007 – The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) denounces the pervasive and systematic use of rape and violence perpetrated by the Angolan army during the expulsions of Congolese migrants working in diamond mines in the Angolan province of Lunda Norte.

New York, November 29, 2006 — Following the latest outbreak of the cholera epidemic that resurfaced with the arrival of seasonal rains, the international humanitarian medical organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has reopened its previous intervention in Lubango in southern Angola. Since the beginning of November, the number of patients has continued to rise—1,427 to date—and mortality remains very high.

Although the number of new cholera cases nationwide continues to slowly decrease, the outbreak in Angola has spread to provinces further from the capital, Luanda. Since February 13, when the first case was officially reported in Luanda, more than 43,000 cases have been reported nationwide and more than 1,600 people have died. In the last 24 hours, more than 280 people became infected and eight died.

The number of new cholera cases is slowly but regularly decreasing. Since February 13, when the first case was officially reported, close to 38,000 cases have been reported nationwide and more than 1,350 people have died. In the last 24 hours, more than 360 people got infected and eight died.

While the number of new cholera cases in Angola has decreased over the last few days, the epidemic is still ongoing. Since February 13, when the first infected patient was officially reported, more than 34,400 cases have been reported and more than 1,200 people have died.

Luanda, Angola, May 17, 2006 – The disastrous state of the water supply and sanitation infrastructure in Luanda and other large cities is the principal reason for the rapid spread of cholera in Angola. As of May 14, more than 34,000 people have fallen ill with cholera (17,500 in Luanda alone) and over 1,200 have died. Though the Angolan authorities have taken some initiatives to limit the spread of the disease, the international humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls for a dramatically stepped up emergency intervention by the Government of Angola and international agencies.

Luanda, May 5, 2006  - More than 27,800 people in Angola are now infected with cholera, up from 20,000 approximately one week ago. More than 1,100 people have already died, and the disease has spread to ten provinces. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is operating cholera treatment centers in seven provinces and has treated more than 16,000 people and delivered more than 320 tons of medical and logistical supplies since the outbreak began in February.

Since February 2006, the Angolan capital of Luanda has been experiencing its worst
ever cholera epidemic, with an average of 500 new cases per day. The outbreak has
also rapidly spread to other areas; to date, 11 of Angola’s 18 provinces are reporting
cases.

Luanda, 13 April 2006 – As the outbreak of cholera is rapidly spreading in Luanda, capital of Angola, and to other parts of the country, the international humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urges the Angolan authorities to officially declare the outbreak and immediately take all the necessary measures needed for controlling it.

Luanda, Angola, April 7, 2006 — With the number of cholera cases increasing rapidly in and around Angola's capital Luanda, the international medical organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls on Angolan authorities to quickly provide more resources to contain the growing outbreak.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is once again responding to a cholera outbreak in one of Africa's capital cities.

It has been six weeks since the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed an outbreak of Marburg fever in Angola. Today, the epidemic is still not under control, and as of April 30 there have been 271 deaths out of 301 confirmed cases.

When MSF arrived in Uige town on March 27, the Marburg fever epidemic was already spreading uncontrollably across the area.

Marburg Fever continues to spread in the Angolan province of Uige. As of April 17, the official death toll stood at 235 among 257 reported cases.

Ten days after an outbreak of Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever was officially confirmed in Angola, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are working on the front line of operations.

Dr. Vincent Brown is the director of Epicentre, an organization that works closely with MSF to conduct epidemiological surveillance and research. An expert in the investigation of epidemics, Dr. Brown discusses the Marburg outbreak.

Ten days after an outbreak of Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever was officially confirmed in Angola, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are working on the front line of operations.

New York/Luanda: April 29, 2004 - The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is very concerned about the inhumane conditions under which Congolese and other foreign illegal diamond miners are deported from Angola. MSF appeals to the Angolan authorities to guarantee basic needs and protection of these individuals.

Kinshasa/New York, April 21, 2004 - A Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team has received new reports of horrifying abuse suffered by Congolese diamond miners forcibly driven across the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from their homes in mining areas in Angola. This information confirms earlier accounts pointing to widespread violence perpetrated against mine workers.

Kinshasa, 16 April 2004 - A Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) team has once again been dispatched to the southwestern provinces of Bandundu and Western Kasai in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to bring medical aid to thousands of Congolese diamond workers expelled in deplorable condition from Angola.

Transcript of a press teleconference hosted by MSF

Volunteer Els Adams was project coordinator for MSF during the terrible famine in post-war Angola.

Bearing witness to injustice and abuse has been a fundamental component of the mission of MSF's since the organization's founding in 1971. But how do we decide when and how to raise our voices?

Angola’s civil war has ravaged the country and devastated its population for more than thirty years. After a brief interlude, the breakdown of the 1994 Lusaka Protocol reignited the war in December 1998. Civilians are once again experiencing a new bout of insecurity and suffering. What could be one of the richest countries on the African continent has become one of its most desolate and depressed.