Mozambique Crisis

Mozambique Map
Source: OCHA/ReliefWeb

The country

Mozambique is a country in southeastern Africa that gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Located on the Indian Ocean, the country shares land borders with Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and South Africa. Its capital is Maputo. Mozambique covers an area of 799,380 square kilometers. In 2022, the country's population was estimated at around 31.7 million people. Mozambique is one of the world’s poorest and least developed states.

The humanitarian situation

The humanitarian crisis in Mozambique's northern province of Cabo Delgado continues to deteriorate. Escalating violence has displaced nearly one million people. At least two million people in Cabo Delgado and neighboring Niassa and Nampula provinces are estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance and protection. Mozambique is also susceptible to climate shocks and frequent natural hazards such as drought, floods and tropical storms.

The overall humanitarian situation in Mozambique remains of concern, in particular due to insecurity in Cabo Delgado, which has forced more than 946,000 people, including 518,000 children, to flee their homes. In 2022, renewed conflict in northern Mozambique further aggravated the plight of displaced people. As a result, many have been forced to flee multiple times. 

The armed conflict in northern Mozambique has also exacerbated food insecurity and malnutrition. Families have been forced to abandon their homes and fields, and erratic rains in some parts of the region have worsened crop losses. In three northern provinces - Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa - more than 1.1 million people are severely food insecure. The World Food Programme (WFP) warned in November that it will be forced to suspend its life-saving assistance to one million people in Cabo Delgado unless additional funding is urgently provided. 

Mozambique faces frequent natural hazards. The country experiences recurrent droughts, floods, and tropical storms. Nearly 2.2 million people - including households still recovering from tropical storm systems that made landfall in early 2022 - could be affected by heavy rains, floods, and tropical cyclones during the upcoming rainy season.  

In February and March 2023, one of the longest-lasting tropical cyclones on record hit Mozambique several times, causing extensive damage, claiming the lives of dozens of people, leaving more than 160,000 people homeless and affecting overall at least 900,000 men, women, and children.

Mozambique is considered one of the countries worldwide most likely to suffer severely from extreme weather events caused by climate change. People in the southeastern African country are living with the dual impacts of high climate risk and poverty.

In 2023, approximately 2 million people will need life-saving and life-sustaining humanitarian assistance and protection in northern Mozambique due to the continued impact of armed conflict, violence and insecurity in Cabo Delgado province.  Among them are 1.1 million children, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Mozambique LocationThe security situation

Mozambique’s northernmost province of Cabo Delgado has been plagued by the rise of violent extremism since 2017. Thousands have reportedly been killed by non-state armed groups. In October 2017, Islamic extremist groups began conducting attacks against civilians and security services in the northern province. The Cabo Delgado insurgency is an ongoing conflict primarily between Islamic militants and jihadists seeking to establish an Islamic state in the region and the Mozambican army and security forces. Human rights organizations report that violent extremists have committed serious human rights violations against civilians, which include beheadings, kidnappings, and the use of child soldiers. According to analysts, the insurgency is fueled by socio-economic exclusion amid major mineral and hydrocarbon discoveries in the northern region.

In 2020 the armed conflict in Cabo Delgado deteriorated, with a significant increase in the number and scope of attacks of extremist groups and the subsequent humanitarian impact. Following a sharp escalation in the first half of 2021, the conflict slowed down in early 2022 after the deployment of armed forces by Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that aided the government of Mozambique in regaining control of areas previously under the control of armed groups.

However, the conflict in northern Mozambique resumed in 2022 and for the first time in areas that had not seen attacks in Cabo Delgado and Nampula. The conflict continues to deepen the needs of internally displaced people (IDPs) and host communities. From late October to November, the activities of non-state armed groups continued to spread in Cabo Delgado province, causing new displacements and exacerbating the humanitarian needs of conflict-affected populations. As of November 2022, attacks have newly displaced approximately 28,000 people in two districts previously unaffected by violence, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Donations

Your donation for the Mozambique emergency can help United Nations agencies, international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their local partners to rapidly provide water, food, medicine, shelter and other aid to the people who need it most.

There are currently only a few active appeals for the Mozambique crisis. You may also consider making an un-earmarked donation to organizations that are active in the country.

Further Information

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