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Introduction
General information
Mozambique, with a population of more than 34 million, faces a twin crisis of conflict and climate-related disasters, disproportionately affecting women, girls, and children. Since October 2017, conflicts in Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa provinces have displaced more than 946,000 people, with women and girls accounting for 52% and children accounting for 59% of those displaced. Although government forces regained control in 2021, as of August 2023, 668,939 individuals, predominantly women and children, remained displaced.2 Our recent Do no Harm Analysis also shows there is still a lot of unrest and foreign military forces are required to maintain control over the major tows. Rural places are still prone to attacks.
Recent attacks by the Non-State Armed Group (NSAG) since May 2025 saw the sharpest rise in violence since June 2022. Over 134,000 people were affected through 61 security incidents.3 Of the estimated more than 600,000 displaced people, approximately half of those affected are children, and most displaced households are headed by women, underscoring the disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable. In addition, around 39% live in one of the 118 IDP sites.4 The conflict is compounded by Mozambique‘s vulnerability to climate disasters, such as Cyclone Chido, which made landfall on December 15, 2024, devastating the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula.
Areas such as Chiúre, Mecufi, Pemba and Metuge in Cabo Delgado, and Erati, Memba and Mossuril in Nampula have suffered extensive damage, intensifying the existing hardship for rural populations.5 Humanitarian efforts in 2024 target 1.7 million people, with a focus on Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa. Of these, 1.3 million are in conflict-affected areas. Priorities include supporting livelihoods, restoring essential services, and addressing the acute needs of women, girls, and children in IDP centers, resettlement sites, and host communities.
An escalation of violence in Cabo Delgado province in Mozambique was driving up cases of early and forced marriage in the aftermath of 2024 January to June where girls were abducted and forced into marriage by armed groups or by families seeking a dowry6, we can assume referring to our Do no Harm analysis and with the current escalation of violence in the outskirts of Ancuabe and Montepuez, similar developments.