Maputo, 9 Mar (AIM) – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) does not have the funds to continue providing humanitarian assistance to the victims of islamist terrorism in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.
The High Commissioner, Filippo Grandi, admitted the lack of funds on Friday, at a press conference in the provincial capital, Pemba, at the end of a visit to Cabo Delgado.
“We have short and long term plans and for short term emergency assistance to Cabo Delgado, we need 49 million US dollars. So far we only have 17 per cent of this sum”, said Grandi
He warned that, if donors remain indifferent to the humanitarian drama unfolding in Cabo Delgado, the UNHCR will be obliged to reduce the aid it provides for displaced people in the province.
The UNHCR, he said, was committed to a large scale response “but, unfortunately, without sufficient resources, we shall have no alternative but to do less than we ought to do”.
Grandi believed that one of the reasons for the shortage of funds is the current international situation. The many wars currently raging elsewhere, plus the effects of climate change, were overshadowing Cabo Delgado.
“The wars and natural phenomena are attracting the attention of the world, and are leaving the situation in Mozambique almost invisible”, he lamented.
Nonetheless, Grandi pledged to fight for the cause of Cabo Delgado in an attempt to ensure that the latest wave of terrorist attacks does not worsen the humanitarian crisis.
He said he had been shocked by his visit to the district of Mocimboa da Praia which had once been occupied by the jihadists, and where 145,000 formerly displaced people have now returned.
“I remembered the true consequences of conflicts and that the solutions to problems take a long time”, he stressed. “I promise that, as from today, I shall work throughout the world as a spokesperson for the cause of Mozambique, to defend the interests of the displaced people and of the host families, and to guarantee resources and lasting solutions for the problems that the population is facing”.
Grandi urged the World Bank and Mozambique’s other partners “to support Mozambique in development projects, not only to avoid a humanitarian crisis, but also to block the spread of terrorism”.
(AIM)
Pf/ (387)
