Angolan communities return to seasonal migration amid severe drought

Severe, repeated drought in southern Angola's Cunene Province is forcing residents, mostly subsistence farmers and pastoralists, to migrate into Namibia in search of water and food, according to Amnesty International testimony collected from residents. Roughly 30% of the region has been degraded by desertification, and a 2023-2024 El Niño event brought the region's worst drought in over a century.

Amnesty researcher Victor Nyamori contrasts Namibia's stronger drought response, expanded food and water aid, livestock support, social protection, with Angola's weaker one, which he says has made crossing the border a matter of survival for many. A bilateral agreement currently allows Angolans to move within 60 km of the border, and Amnesty is calling for that arrangement to be made permanent as forecasters warn of another severe El Niño ahead.

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