Senior U.N. Aid Officials Sound Alarm on Mozambique’s Triple Crisis
New York/ Rome – Concluding a joint visit to Mozambique today, senior United Nations humanitarian officials are appealing for urgent global action to address a trio of crises – conflict, climate shocks and a deteriorating socio-economic situation – confronting the country.
The complex challenges have left millions of people in need of emergency food assistance. Continued fighting, the devastating impacts of recent tropical cyclones and an El Niño-induced drought have also exacerbated the humanitarian situation, with women and girls being disproportionately affected.
During their visit, Joyce Msuya, assistant-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator, and Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), held talks with national and local Mozambican authorities, as well as with humanitarian partners, U.N. staff, donors and international financial institutions, to discuss the country’s urgent needs.
They also traveled to the northern province of Cabo Delgado, meeting with people in the Macomia, Pemba and Mecufi districts, where conflict and climate shocks have devastated essential services, basic infrastructure and livelihoods.
Escalating violence in northern Mozambique has displaced 715,000 people, while Cyclones Chido and Dikeledi have impacted 680,000 people.
“Communities made it clear: Their main priorities are a lasting peace, durable housing solutions and education for their children,” said Ms. Msuya. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the government of Mozambique to help people in need who have been affected by conflict and climate disasters.”
In Mecufi, Ms. Msuya and Mr. Skau visited a World Food Programme-supported food distribution site which is run by local partners and is helping around 5,300 people struggling to recover from the destruction wrought by Tropical Cyclone Chido in December 2024.
“The crisis in Mozambique requires more attention. We met families who had been devastated by conflict, only for Cyclone Chido to destroy what little they had left,” said Mr. Skau. “Humanitarian efforts to provide lifesaving food and other assistance need more support. We also need to help people rebuild their lives to withstand these recurring crises.”
Despite the surging humanitarian needs, just 3% of the total amount of funding – $619 million – needed to reach 2.4 million people in critical need of humanitarian aid this year has been received. Of this amount, the World Food Programme urgently requires $170 million to deliver lifesaving assistance over the next six months to avert a full-scale hunger crisis.
“Global humanitarian funding is under immense strain,” Ms. Msuya noted. “We cannot abandon Mozambicans at this critical juncture.”
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High resolution photos available here
