The United Nations (UN) is mobilizing around 200 million for humanitarian assistance in Mozambique this year. The assistant to the UN secretary-general and coordinator of the El Niño climate crisis, Reena Ghelani, announced these figures in Maputo, after an audience with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Verónica Macamo.
So far, only 10% of the amount has been channeled, and the international community has not yet fully responded to the appeal. Ghelani explained that the UN is already providing humanitarian assistance in the north of the country and that his visit is aimed at assessing the impact of the floods and drought, mainly linked to the El Niño phenomenon and climate change, as well as discussing the additional support that could be granted to Mozambique.
The minister expressed concern about early warning systems to prevent and mitigate natural disasters, and Ghelani said that the UN will study how to support in this area. Catherine Sozi, humanitarian coordinator for Mozambique, announced a program for 2024 that will benefit at least 1.3 million Mozambicans, mainly in Cabo Delgado, in the sectors of health, nutrition, education, food, shelter and infrastructure development.
