Drought drives southern Angolans to Namibia for water and food — Mongabay
In Cunene province in southern Angola, a severe multi-year drought is forcing people to leave their homes and cross the border into Namibia in search of water and food, Mongabay reports. According to testimonies collected by Amnesty International, nearly the entire working-age population has left some villages, while elderly people have remained at home.
Loss of crops and livestock
Cunene is home to more than 1.8 million people, with about 75% of the province’s population living in rural areas and depending on livestock farming and subsistence agriculture. Amnesty International researcher and migration lawyer Victor Nyamori said that recurring droughts, extreme heat and environmental degradation in southern Angola have left families without water, crops and livestock.
According to an Amnesty International report, approximately 30% of the territory has degraded due to desertification, depriving many communities that rely on subsistence farming of their livelihoods. The powerful El Niño phenomenon in 2023–2024 caused the region’s worst drought in more than a century.
Cross-border movement
Namibia also suffered from drought, but expanded food and water assistance, supported livestock owners and invested in social protection. In Nyamori’s view, Angola responded to the crisis less effectively, making border crossings a matter of survival for its citizens.
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Movement to Namibia is taking place amid resource shortages and may be dangerous, particularly for women and children because of the risks of sexual and gender-based violence and human trafficking, the researcher said.
Historically, seasonal movements were part of the social, economic and customary life of local communities and enabled them to seek pastures and water during dry periods. According to Nyamori, this mobility disappeared after colonization and the establishment of arbitrary borders. The Cunene River forms the border between Angola and Namibia, and communities speaking the same language and in some cases having family ties live on both sides of it.
Currently, a bilateral agreement allows Angolan citizens to move freely in Namibia within 60 km of the border. Amnesty International calls for this arrangement to be made permanent, given climatologists’ warnings of a possible intensification of El Niño and new devastating droughts in the region.
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