Food assistance needs remain high in the southwest due to limited resources
Key Messages
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Minimal (IPC Phase 1) acute food insecurity is expected across most of the country from August to September. Most poor households continue to consume food from their own production and earn income from non-agricultural labor. Minimal conditions are expected to continue from October 2022 to January 2023 as agricultural activities for the 2022/23 cropping season progress. In Cunene, Huíla, and Namibe, poor households are engaging in non-agricultural labor to earn income, as well as participating in livestock migration, but continue to be in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) due to limited or no own produced crops and poor grazing and livestock conditions, contributing to below-average purchasing power. Although a normal start to the seasonal rains is expected in October, an earlier-than-normal lean season is likely in affected parts of the southwest in September. Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes will continue in southwestern areas through January 2023.
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In the southwest, poor households affected by successive shocks are generating income through the sale of traditional alcoholic beverages made from wild fruits, the sale of small livestock (goats, chicken, and sheep), and when there is no other alternative—through the sale of cattle – usually the weakest. Households use part of the income generated from these activities to buy essentials for consumption. The start of the rains in October is likely to increase agricultural labor opportunities such as land preparation and planting. However, agro-pastoralist households participating in livestock migration are unlikely to return in time for the beginning of the 2022/23 cropping season due to the greater distances traveled and poor livestock conditions.
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According to the WFP, food assistance was not distributed to households in Cunene and Huíla in July and August because of extremely low turnout due to the ongoing political campaign activities leading up to the presidential election in late August. Food assistance activities are planned to resume in mid-September through the end of October. Humanitarian resources are limited, and WFP’s response program from the next six months is not fully funded.
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The annual headline inflation rate eased moderately to 21.4 percent in July, a two-year low and the sixth-consecutive reduction in inflation in 2022. Although inflation has moderated in 2022, consumer prices will remain elevated due to high global food prices keeping upward inflation pressure. As a result, continued high inflation rates will constrain disposable incomes and personal consumption.