Luanda, Sept. 3, 2026 (Lusa) - The Angolan press reported on Thursday that the first two dams under the plan to tackle the drought in southern Angola are ready for inauguration and are expected to alleviate the humanitarian situation that has seen thousands relocate in recent years.
The President of Angola, João Lourenço, is due to travel to Cunene province this Friday to inaugurate the Calucuve and Ndúe dams, located in the municipality of Cuvelai, two of the five projects included in the Programme to Combat the Effects of Drought in Southern Angola (PCESSA).
The lack of water for consumption and economic activities has, in recent decades, prompted thousands of Angolans to cross the border into Namibia, where they face challenging conditions, according to Amnesty International's (AI) latest report released on Tuesday.
The two dams connect to the Cafu canal, which is already operational, and are intended to supply water to local communities for agricultural irrigation and to meet the needs of the agricultural and livestock sectors.
Located in the Mukolongondjo commune, the Calucuve and Ndúe dams are two of the major infrastructure projects planned to combat drought in this area, according to the Angolan news agency Angop.
The Ndúe project will benefit around 55,000 people and 60,000 head of livestock in its initial phase, with a storage capacity of 170 million cubic metres of water and a 75-kilometre-long water supply canal.
The Calucuve dam will serve 80,000 people and nearly 200,000 head of livestock, with a storage capacity of 141 million cubic metres of water.
The inauguration takes place almost five years after work began.
According to the latest report by Amnesty International, southern Angola, particularly the provinces of Cunene, Huíla and Namibe, has been among the regions most affected by recurring droughts, which the El Niño phenomenon has exacerbated.
The report notes that, «together with long-standing structural vulnerabilities, these conditions have undermined traditional pastoral and agricultural systems, eroded people's resilience, and forced them to migrate to Namibia in search of safety, food, water, work and essential services».
According to AI, many families live in makeshift shelters, built from branches, plastic and cardboard, in severely overcrowded conditions or, in some cases, without any form of shelter at all and without access to basic services, particularly healthcare.
The organisation encourages the Namibian authorities to actively grant displaced people access to basic rights, including registration and documentation, and urges the Angolan authorities to establish safeguards that protect those affected by the drought.
Amnesty International's regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, stated that this is not merely «a humanitarian concern», but «a human rights crisis that demands international solidarity, including legal protection against refoulement».
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