Mozambique: Aid Organizations Appeal for US$254 Million to Respond to Urgent Humanitarian Needs [EN/PT]

The funding will allow the United Nations and humanitarian partners to scale up the humanitarian response in northern Mozambique, where nearly 530,000 people have been forced from their homes due to the ongoing conflict.

Maputo, 18 December 2020 - The United Nations and partners today launched an appeal for US$254 million to provide urgently needed assistance and protection to 1.1 million people affected by violence, conflict and insecurity in Cabo Delgado and neighbouring provinces of Mozambique in 2021.

The crisis in Cabo Delgado rapidly escalated in 2020, with attacks and fighting forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes every month. Nearly 530,000 people are now internally displaced in Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa, almost five times the number registered in March 2020.

“In 2020, people were forced to flee their homes with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing.
They lost their belongings, their livelihoods, their future. Humanitarian assistance is vital to alleviate their suffering,” said Myrta Kaulard, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Mozambique.

People fleeing violence in Cabo Delgado have been exposed to severe violations and abuses. “We are especially concerned about the plight of children and women,” warned Ms. Kaulard. “Women and girls are at risk of abduction, gender-based violence and exploitation, while boys are at risk of being killed or recruited by armed actors. We are deeply worried about the fate of civilians who remained stuck in areas isolated by violence,” she added.

Conflict and displacement are severely affecting already overstretched essential services. More than 90 per cent of the displaced people are living with relatives or friends, whose already scarce resources are being further strained. “Communities hosting displaced people also need support as their exemplary solidarity is reaching a breaking point.”

Many areas hosting displaced people will flood in the upcoming rainy season. Local authorities and the humanitarian community are running against the clock to set up new settlement areas with adequate conditions to relocate displaced people.

“The international community has been extremely generous and stepped-up in 2020 to support people in Mozambique as they face this extremely challenging crisis. However, with needs rapidly rising, humanitarian partners urgently require more funding to scale-up their response across the northern provinces of the country. We count on the support of the international community to provide timely funding to ensure that people fleeing violence can access much-needed relief,’ concluded the Humanitarian Coordinator for Mozambique, Myrta Kaulard.