The government of Japan will support the Angolan programme to combat the effects of drought affecting 1.8 million people since 2012 with a contribution of US$1.2 million , the first secretary of the Japanese embassy in Angola said in Lubango

Yoshiko Miura, who is on a three-day working mission to Huila province, said the funds given to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) were improving hygiene and sanitation in the provinces of Cunene and Huila, the two most affected by the drought that has also hit ten other provinces in the country in the last three years.

Miura said that the ongoing programme also promotes knowledge of safe hygiene and sanitation practices to prevent diseases transmitted by unsafe water and training locals involved in protecting children against child labour, truancy, neglect and violence.

In Huila and Cunene there are 543,000 people suffering the effects of drought, according to Angolan news agency Angop. (macauhub/AO)