Angola
78. At the end of 1978 the number of refugees in Angola of concern to UNHCR was estimated at nearly 141,000. This total was made up of 110,000 Zairians, of whom 18,000 were accommodated in settlements, 30,000 Namibians, of whom 20,000 were in settlements, and the remainder from South Africa.
79. In addition to these numbers there were the Angolans returning to the country and those who had been displaced within the country, for whom the High Commissioner had been appointed, in 1976, co-ordinator of the United Nations Programme of Humanitarian Assistance to Angola. In 1978, UNHCR's activities under this programne involving expenditures amounting to some $255,800, were limited to following up the measures put in train in 1977. However, under another programme, implemented in Portugal, about 1,100 persons had been assisted to return to Angola by carly March 1979. In the sane month, the Government of Angola approached UNHCR with a request for further assistance, in respect of Angolans wishing to repatriate from Zaire.
80. With regard to the refugees from Zaire, who numbered some 220,000 at the beginning of 1978, UNHCR had planned to move from the emergency phase of its programme in the middle of the year to the second phase which would have covered integration measures. An evaluation mission, consisting of representatives of the Government, UNHCR, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) assessed the viability of the sites where refugees were located, and concluded that these sites were not very fertile. However, this integration programme was not pursued, for two reasons. In the first place, the Government decided to move the refugees away from the border area on security grounds, and secondly the President of Zaire promulgated an amnesty decrec towards the end of June 1978 in favour of Zairians who had sought refugo outside the country. As a result, UNHCR, at the request of the authorities concerned, prepared and implemented a voluntary repatriation operation, which continued into 1979, and which saw the departure of almost 110,000 Zairians in 1978.
81.
The UNHCR programme of assistance to Namibians in Angola had to be revised upwards several times in 1978 on account of the increasing numbers, raids by South African forces, and the decision taken by the Government to move those in Huila province to Kwanza Sul for security reasons. The initial allocation was finally raised to $982,000 by the end of the year, for immediate needs such as tents, household articles, agriculture tools, clothing and transport, and significant additional assistance was provided by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP) and WHO.
In this connexion, tribute must be paid to the co-operative spirit evidenced by representatives of other bodies in the United Nations system, particularly with regard to joint missions which took place to evaluate requirements, to avoid duplication of effort, and to determine the measures of assistance to be channelled through the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO).
82.
Total expenditures in Angola in 1978 amounted to $4,036,600. Apart from the amounts mentioned above, this total also included $176,600 made available from the Trust Fund for Southern Africans and some $17,000 from other Trust Funds.