UN agency seeks $413 million for humanitarian crisis in northern Mozambique

MOZAMBIQUE – The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA, is seeking US$413 million in emergency aid to support over one million people in northern Mozambique dealing with climate disasters.

OCHA Mozambique representative, Paola Serrao Emerson, told a media conference in Maputo that her organisation’s efforts to deal with the souring humanitarian situation in the southern African nation faced financial problems.

This is according to a report by Voice of Africa.

According to the UN, a total of 2.3 million people need humanitarian assistance in the northern provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula, but her organisation was operating under a tight budget.

“We are looking for US$413 million for Cabo Delgado or war in Mozambique, and of that we have received just about US$43 million or so, just over 11 percent, so we are woefully underfunded.

“Normally at this time of the year we would at least 20 or more percent funding,” Emeson said

According to Emerson, food insecurity compounded the vulnerability of the internally displaced people, host communities and returnees alike.

Mozambique is regularly exposed to cyclones, floods and droughts, damaging private and public infrastructure.

In 2023, Tropical Cyclone Freddy, a storm of record-breaking length, hit Mozambique’s northern region twice with destructive winds, extreme rainfall, and widespread flooding.

Droughts, which had become more frequent, were also a dire concern, as 80 percent of the population of more than 33 million depends on rain-fed agriculture.

“Humanitarian organisations, the UN, national and international organizations are supporting people every day with food assistance, with health support, with child support assistance, with mental health psychiatric support amongst many others throughout Cabo Delgado.

“However, the funding situation is difficult to provide comprehensive multi-sectoral support to all areas that are affected,” Emerson said.

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