
Maputo, 1 Apr (AIM) – The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) intends to provide, throughout the current year, humanitarian assistance to at least 1.7 million people, especially in northern Mozambique.
According to an OCHA statement on “Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan Mozambique 2024”, of this number, 1.3 million are people from areas affected by violent extremism in the northern province of Cabo Delgado and about 430,000 are people from other regions affected by the impacts of natural disasters.
Last March, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) claimed to have no funds to continue providing humanitarian assistance to the victims of Islamist terrorism in 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 percent of this sum”, said the High Commissioner, Filippo Grandi.
However, OCHA says that “the response will cover the areas with the highest returns, it will also support internally displaced people who have no land or people who face the threat of expulsion and the areas that have suffered the most significant damage to infrastructure as a result of the conflict”.
According to the note, Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa, are the provinces with “the most pressing needs. We will advocate the creation of conditions that favor livelihoods and the re-establishment of essential services and means of subsistence.”
Later this year, humanitarian partners will regularly review the operating environment by monitoring security, people’s ability to resume agricultural production, the functioning of markets and the rehabilitation of public services such as health and education facilities, adapting the response accordingly.
“It is estimated that 2.5 million people will be vulnerable to natural disasters, namely heavy rains, strong winds, cyclones, floods and droughts. The provinces of Gaza, Sofala and Tete are at risk of drought, and early action has already been taken in some districts of the three provinces”, the document points out.
In 2024, initiatives to build early action systems on droughts, cyclones, floods and cholera will also be strengthened to facilitate the expansion of early action to save lives and reduce the impact of these phenomena.
In 2023, the UN assisted 1.6 million people in the northern region of Mozambique, of which 1.4 million people received food assistance.
The aid was given in response to the crisis caused by the combined effects of Cyclone Freddy, the floods and a cholera outbreak. Humanitarian organizations provided direct assistance to 668,000 people.
(AIM)
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