Highlights
UNICEF responded to conflict-driven displacement in Nampula province, including by providing health kits and tents, delivering lifesaving supplies for SAM treatment, and providing MHPSS services for children and caregivers.
UNICEF is supporting health services in piloting the treatment of acute malnutrition at community level (CMAM) in Cabo Delgado and Nampula, screening 40,770 children under five.
UNICEF is supporting the Ministry of Health for the COVID-19 vaccination campaign for more than 4.9 million children (12-17 years old) to be reached.
Accelerated Learning Programmes in Chiure and Metuge districts of Cabo Delgado reached nearly 40,000 people so far.
UNICEF along with partners provided sanitation facilities to 2,799 households in Cabo Delgado.
Situation in Numbers
520,579 children displaced in need of humanitarian assistance (IOM June 2022)
1,500,000 people in need in the north (OCHA August 2022)
946,508 internally displaced people (IOM June 2022)
302,000 people in hard-to-reach areas (OCHA August 2022)
Funding Overview and Partnerships
UNICEF’s 2022 Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal seeks US$98.8 million to sustain and expand the provision of life-saving services for women and children in Mozambique affected by conflict, Cyclone Gombe, and Tropical Storm Ana. UNICEF has received over $16.1 million in 2022 including generous contributions from the GAVI Vaccine Alliance, in support of UNICEF Mozambique’s humanitarian response to COVID-19, the United Kingdom, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Republic of Korea, who provided support for UNICEF’s response in the aftermath of Tropical Storms Ana and Gombe, and the World Bank, the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), and the Governments of Italy, Norway and USAID who provided support for UNICEF’s conflict-related activities in northern Mozambique. The 2022 HAC has a funding gap of 69 per cent. UNICEF has also utilized core resources and nexus-related funding for response activities totalling $11.7 million to meet urgent humanitarian needs and additional earmarked resources for the polio response. The remaining funding gap means UNICEF is unable to respond to existing needs, and planning for future displacements and storms, are not possible; especially in hard-to-reach areas.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Armed violence triggered new waves of displacement in northern Mozambique during September. The beginning of the reporting period saw the spread of attacks by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) into Nampula province, triggering further displacement and rising needs in the districts of Erati and Memba. Following the attacks, reports indicated that a total of 47,000 people (8,020 families) and 18,500 people (3,700 families) were displaced in Erati and Memba districts, respectively. The displaced populations stayed primarily with host communities, though some had started to return to places of origin at the end of the reporting period, once attacks subsided.
In Cabo Delgado province, attacks and clashes were also reported in several districts during September, including Nangade, Muidumbe, Macomia, Quissanga, Metuge and Chiure. Such incidents and fear of attacks triggered continuous localized displacements in several areas. Between 31 August and 3 October 2022, a total of 32,936 people were reportedly on the move in Cabo Delgado, the majority of which were children. This figure also reflected large return movements to Mocímboa da Praia district, with reports of thousands of new arrives per week.
Persistent shocks continue to impact humanitarian needs, including food security and nutrition. In September, the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWSNET) indicated that food insecurity remains a challenge, with IPC Phase 3-Crisis level outcomes is expected to continue through January 2023 in the drought-affected areas of southern Mozambique, areas in Nampula affected by floods and tropical storms, and conflict-affected areas of Cabo Delgado.
Meanwhile, disease outbreaks also remained a concern. The poliovirus outbreak is also still active in the country. Currently, there are 7 cases of wild polio virus (WPV1) in Mozambique, all deriving from Tete province. Furthermore, there have been 5 cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (CDVP2) and 8 cases of CDVP1 in 2022.
Source: UN Children’s Fund