Maputo, 14 Oct (AIM) – about 800,000 households benefit from the social security system in Mozambique, according to the Secretary of State for Gender and Social Welfare, Abdul Razak.
According to Razak, who was speaking on Monday, in Maputo, at the opening ceremony of the “3rd Edition of the Dialogue on Social Resilience”, which marked the beginning of the celebrations for “Social Protection Week”, taking place under the motto “Investing in social protection is investing in human capital”, the assistance is divided into mandatory social security, provided by the National Social Security Institute (INSS), and the basic social security, provided by the National Social Welfare Institute (INAS).
“Although 800,000 families are receiving assistance, there are many people who still need assistance, but because we have limited resources, we cannot intervene immediately for everyone”, said Razak. “However, the country is in good shape, influenced by the resumption of social protection benefit payments after interruptions caused by financial and administrative factors, and even mismanagement of public affairs”.
He said that the government is resuming payments to beneficiaries of the Basic Social Benefit Program and other social protection programs “and we can say that our social protection system is functioning normally.”
Regarding families who have faced the negative impact of severe climate change for several years, “we have been, on a recurrent basis, every year, assisting beneficiaries under the Post-Emergency Direct Social Action programme.”
For his turn, Gabriel Monteiro, deputy chairperson of the country’s relief agency, the National Disaster Risk Management Institute (INGD), said that, under the partnership with the World Food Programme, the INGD is implementing an early warning system that includes advance plans and actions and irregular social protection programmes.
“The country is already in the rainy season, which this year will be characterized by abundant rainfall throughout almost the entire country. To address this, the INGD is finalizing the Annual Contingency Plan for 2025-2026, the government’s main planning instrument for multisector emergency response and management”, he said.
In recent years, Mozambique has seen a significant increase in the frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters. During the 2024-2025 rainy season, the country was affected by tropical cyclones Chido, Dikeledi, and Jude, which struck the northern provinces, already weakened by humanitarian pressure due to terrorist attacks in some districts of Cabo Delgado province.
(AIM)
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