Angola's suffering behind a pretence of normality.

L month Angola celebrated 25 years of independence, a date which also marks 25 years of war between the Angolan Government and UNITA rebels. According to the Angolan government, which claims to control more than 90% of the territory, the situation is returning to normal. This talk of new-found stability is echoed by increased economic investments from the international community. It is estimated that recently discovered oil deposits will double oil output in the next 4 years, and the oil industry is expected to invest $US3·5 billion a year in offshore Angola during the next decade. However, this return to normality is far from evident for the vast majority of Angola’s war-stricken population. Civilians are increasingly displaced by the ongoing violence and forced into situations in which they are totally dependent on diminishing levels of humanitarian aid. In Kuito, for example, 130 000 of the town’s 240 000 inhabitants are displaced, while in Kaala the number of displaced is estimated at nearly 24 000, half of whom live in camps. Widescale population displacement has provoked a severe food crisis, affecting both residents and the displaced. Food reserves and harvests have been stolen. Malnutrition, poor sanitary conditions in the towns, and lack of access to health care have had a serious effect on the health of the population. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been working in Angola since 1983 and currently runs 11 medical and nutritional programmes in nine of the country’s 18 provinces. In MSF’s latest report extensive medical and nutritional data are presented, detailing the scale of the current humanitarian catastrophe in Angola. Retrospective mortality surveys carried out by MSF in different regions of the country revealed that daily mortality rates earlier this year exceeded alert thresholds (crude mortality rate one death/10 000 people; under-five morAngola’s suffering behind a pretence of normality