Angola has recalibrated its national demining strategy in response to the phased dismantling of a longstanding United States Agency for International Development (USAID) initiative, marking a pivotal shift in its decades-long effort to eradicate landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) from its territory. The adjustment follows the conclusion of USAID’s BEST (Biological Erosion and Stability Threat) programme in late 2023, which had provided technical and financial support to Angola’s humanitarian demining operations since 2020. This recalibration underscores Angola’s determination to address residual contamination while confronting new logistical and financial challenges in achieving its goal of becoming “landmine-free” by 2025.
Landmines, a lethal legacy of Angola’s 27-year civil war (1975–2002), continue to afflict vast swathes of the country, particularly rural regions in the central and eastern provinces. According to the National Demining Institute (INAD), approximately 1,200 suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) remain, spanning 122 km² as of December 2023. While significant progress has been made—99% of known mined areas have been cleared since 2002—the residual contamination poses persistent risks to 1.5 million Angolans, impeding agricultural productivity, infrastructure development, and safe resettlement.
The termination of USAID’s programme, which had allocated $48 million (£38 million) to demining efforts between 2020 and 2023, has necessitated strategic realignment. Sources within INAD confirm that the agency is prioritising cost-efficient methodologies, including enhanced utilisation of satellite mapping, drone surveillance, and mechanised demining equipment. These technologies aim to accelerate clearance rates while reducing reliance on manual deminers, who constitute 70% of the current workforce. Concurrently, Angola has intensified diplomatic engagements to secure alternative funding, including negotiations with the European Union, Japan, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The financial implications of this transition are non-trivial. Angola’s revised demining plan, approved by the Council of Ministers in April 2024, requires an estimated 240million(£190million)tocompleteoperationsby2025.However,afundingshortfallof120 million (£95 million) persists, exacerbated by the withdrawal of USAID and fluctuating contributions from traditional donors. This deficit has raised concerns among civil society groups, including the Halo Trust, which warns that delayed clearance could prolong displacement for 340,000 people in Bié, Moxico, and Cuando Cubango provinces.
Geopolitical analysts suggest that USAID’s exit reflects broader shifts in global aid priorities, particularly the reallocation of resources to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. A 2023 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) notes a 12% decline in global humanitarian demining funding since 2020, with sub-Saharan Africa disproportionately affected. Nonetheless, the Angolan government remains publicly resolute. In a March 2024 address, President João Lourenço reaffirmed commitments to the 2025 deadline, emphasising demining as “non-negotiable for national development.”
Critics, however, argue that logistical hurdles and bureaucratic inefficiencies may undermine these ambitions. Manual demining in Angola’s densely vegetated and flood-prone regions remains slow, averaging 0.1 km² cleared per month per team. Moreover, competing demands on public expenditure—including healthcare, education, and debt servicing—have constrained domestic funding. Angola allocated 1.2% of its 2024 budget to demining, a figure unchanged since 2022, despite inflation exceeding 25% annually.
The socio-economic ramifications of delayed demining are profound. Agriculture, which employs 65% of Angola’s workforce, contributes just 10% to GDP, partly due to 450,000 hectares of arable land remaining inaccessible. The World Bank estimates that full demining could boost agricultural output by $3.2 billion (£2.5 billion) annually, catalysing rural development and food security. Furthermore, infrastructure projects, such as the transcontinental Lobito Corridor, face delays as contractors navigate UXO contamination along key routes.
International partners have responded cautiously to Angola’s revised strategy. While the EU pledged €15 million (£12.8 million) in March 2024 for demining in Huambo Province, this constitutes a fraction of the required sum. Conversely, non-traditional donors, such as China and Turkey, have expanded their involvement, though their contributions focus on commercial infrastructure rather than humanitarian clearance. This dichotomy underscores the complexities of aligning donor interests with national priorities.
Angola’s plight mirrors challenges across Southern Africa, where an estimated 10 million landmines linger in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Regional bodies, including the Southern African Development Community (SADC), have advocated for collective demining frameworks, yet progress remains incremental. Angola’s experience may thus serve as a litmus test for the viability of nationally led demining in an era of constrained international aid.
In parallel, grassroots organisations are filling critical gaps. The Association of Demining Victims (ADV), a Luanda-based NGO, has launched community awareness campaigns in collaboration with INAD, training local volunteers in mine-risk education. Such initiatives, though underfunded, have reduced civilian casualties by 40% since 2020, according to Landmine Monitor.
As Angola navigates this transitional phase, the broader humanitarian community watches closely. The forthcoming UN-sponsored Oslo Conference on Mine Action in November 2024 offers a platform for Angola to lobby for renewed support. Success hinges on transparent governance, technological innovation, and sustained international solidarity a trifecta that will determine whether Angola can consign its landmine legacy to history.
