Maputo, 30 Aug (AIM) – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that 1.8 million people, in seven Mozambican provinces, need food aid since they are facing food insecurity as a result of severe drought caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon.
“The number of people facing food insecurity increased from 20 percent in 2023 to 33 per cent in 2024, due to the drought caused by El Niño. The number of people at severe risk of food insecurity is almost four times higher than in 2023”, reads the latest WFP report, cited by the Portuguese News Agency, Lusa.
According to the document, the people in question face limited access to food and water and vulnerable groups risk relying on alternatives that are “negative and harmful to survival, including risks of sexual exploitation and abuse.”
“El Niño is affecting the price of basic foodstuffs, pushing thousands into a situation of vulnerability. Overall, maize prices in June 2024 were 40 per cent higher compared to last year, and 55 per cent higher than the five-year average”, reads the report.
WFP also points out that the “above-average prices, combined with the failure of agricultural production and limited income opportunities are eroding the purchasing power of poor and very poor families, leading to consumption deficits and hunger.”
The report points out that the El Niño’ phenomenon, over the last year, included a shortage of rainfall and above average temperatures, leading to drought conditions in central and southern Mozambique and “3.3 million people, from October 2024 to March 2025, will be facing food insecurity.”
“The WFP is targeting 355,827 people during the next initial three-month response, starting in November, with emergency food assistance (204,327 people), nutrition activities (145,000 children under five, pregnant women and breastfeeding women and girls), and school feeding (6,500 pupils)”, reads the document.
The report also says that the WFP’s field support plan needs funding totalling 170 million dollars to bring aid to 1.1 million people, but up to this month it had only secured 16 million dollars.
(AIM)
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