According to reports from the humanitarian office of the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 50,000 people have been forced to flee in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province following escalating attacks by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and heightened fear of violence. The province is the epicenter of an ongoing armed conflict, and internal displacement is prevalent.
In its latest situation report released Saturday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that tens of thousands were displaced in July across the districts of Chiúre, Ancuabe, and Muidumbe in Cabo Delgado as a result of NSAG attacks, with Chiúre being the most affected district amidst the ongoing deterioration of the Cabo Delgado conflict.
On Thursday, IOM reported that more than 49,000 people had registered as new arrivals in the Chiure district alone. Earlier this week, the IOM reported that more than 4,000 additional children, women, and men were displaced across the Muidumbe and Ancuabe districts.
OCHA said that a rapid response has begun, but urgent replenishment of emergency supplies is needed to support all affected individuals and maintain the prioritized response for the most vulnerable in Cabo Delgado.
IOM stated that urgent humanitarian needs include food assistance, non-food items, water supply, dignity and hygiene kits, and emergency shelter. These pressing needs require immediate assistance to ensure life-saving support for the displaced population.
According to the UN humanitarian office, the sharp increase in displacement underscores a pressing need for coordinated humanitarian aid, especially in the areas of shelter, protection, and other essential services.
With over 60 schools closed in the Chiúre district, thousands of children are unable to finish the academic year, during which time students typically take exams for their quarterly evaluations. Many children have lost their school uniforms, learning materials, and academic certificates, which impacts their ability to resume their education.
OCHA reports that children, people with disabilities, the elderly, as well as women and girls are especially at risk in Chiúre. While nearly 60 percent of the displaced population are children, women and girls face increased risks of gender-based violence (GBV) due to overcrowded and unsegregated shelters, as well as a lack of privacy.
Ongoing conflict and internal displacement in the north
The conflict in northern Mozambique, particularly in Cabo Delgado province but also in neighboring Niassa and Nampula provinces, remains both volatile and difficult to predict. In May 2025, the number of violence-related security incidents affecting civilians reached the highest level since 2022.
Attacks by armed groups have occurred in larger geographical areas and moved closer to main roads, disrupting mobility and hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid. Since January 2025, ongoing violence and insecurity have displaced over 100,000 people, many of whom still live in dire conditions with limited access to essential services and protection.
According to a June report from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the situation in northern Mozambique was one of the world's three most neglected displacement crises in 2024.
As of April, there were more than 600,000 internally displaced people across Mozambique, 53 percent of whom were children. Over 700,000 returnees have gone back to their places of origin, yet they are still in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Mozambique's overall humanitarian situation
Humanitarian needs in the country have increased in 2025 due to escalating violence in the north's conflict-affected areas, cyclones, and cholera outbreaks. Currently, 5.2 million children, women, and men in Mozambique, including some 1.3 million in Cabo Delgado and neighboring Niassa and Nampula provinces, are in need of humanitarian relief.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 3.4 million of those in the total figure are children in need of humanitarian assistance.
Over the past few months, Mozambique has been hit with one emergency after another: deteriorating conflict in the north, intensifying and recurring climate shocks, and deadly disease outbreaks like cholera. Meanwhile, humanitarian funding has been persistently insufficient.
The southeastern African country is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events and frequent natural disasters, such as droughts, floods, and tropical storms.
In the first half of 2025, the country was hit by two tropical cyclones in less than three months: Cyclone Dikeledi in January and Cyclone Jude in March, which affected over 1.3 million people, caused dozens of deaths, and severely damaged critical infrastructure. Throughout the 2024/2025 rainy season, three cyclones - Dikeledi, Jude, and Chido in December 2024 - caused at least 180 deaths and together impacted nearly 1.8 million people.
Since October 2024, Mozambique has been grappling with a major cholera outbreak. Health authorities have reported outbreaks in at least five provinces. Poor access to clean water, exacerbated by the recent tropical storms and inadequate infrastructure, has fueled the outbreak. Between October 2024 and July 2025, nearly 4,500 new cholera cases and over 60 deaths were reported.
Funding shortfalls and the cost of inaction
As of today, the Mozambique Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) — which seeks $352 million — is only 19 percent funded, having received a mere $66 million. The critical lack of funding severely limits the ability of humanitarian organizations to address the crisis.
In response to the global funding crisis, aid agencies have reprioritized their efforts, targeting only 317,000 people — a staggering 71 percent reduction from the original target of 1.1 million. The revised plan requires $126 million.
According to an OCHA report released this week on the "Cost of Inaction" due to limited funding, food assistance and livelihood programs in Mozambique are failing to meet basic needs, leaving hundreds of thousands of people at risk of hunger, death, and despair.
So far this year, some 400,000 people have received food assistance, yet most of those receiving assistance are surviving on half rations, with only 39 percent of their daily caloric needs met. Meanwhile, 600,000 people facing severe food insecurity in Cabo Delgado are receiving no assistance at all.
Thousands of children under five are at high risk of dying from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) due to a shortage of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) caused by the lack of funding. A major funding shortfall is also crippling national health programs and the humanitarian health response.
OCHA stressed that immediate international attention and support are necessary to prevent the situation from deteriorating further and to help the millions of people struggling to survive.
Further information
Full text: MOZAMBIQUE – New displacements due to NSAG attacks, Situation Report #1 – Chiúre, Ancuabe and Muidumbe districts, Cabo Delgado, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), report, released August 2, 2025
https://reliefweb.int/attachments/ed1e5eb1-716f-4271-a274-7b7768a1b6d2/20250801_SitRep__New_Displacements_due_to_NSAG_attacks_FINAL.pdf
Full text: Mozambique: The Cost of Inaction - July 2025, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), report, released August 1, 2025
https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/mozambique/mozambique-cost-inaction-july-2025