Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
- The poly-crisis in Mozambique—conflict, drought and public health emergencies—are stretching humanitarian resources. Approximately 4.8 million people require humanitarian assistance (10 per cent persons with disabilities), including 3.4 million children.
- In conflict-affected Cabo Delgado, more than 1.3 million internally displaced people, returnees and conflict-affected people require assistance. Eighty per cent of returnees and those who are internally displaced are children and women.
- Nearly 3.3 million people are projected to be in ‘crisis’ or higher levels of food insecurity due to the impact of the El Niño weather pattern, while La Niña weather patterns may exacerbate conditions in 2025. More than 29,000 children under age 5 will likely need treatment for severe wasting.
- UNICEF prioritizes protective, gender-sensitive and inclusive action that uses an integrated approach to address basic needs while ensuring links to development programming.
- UNICEF requires $64 million to address the humanitarian needs of 2.5 million people nationwide, including 2.1 million children. A lack of predictable and flexible funding puts children's welfare at risk.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION AND NEEDS
More than 4.8 million people, including 3.4 million children, require humanitarian assistance and protection in Mozambique, due to ongoing conflict, climate shocks and disease outbreaks. The high level of humanitarian need is stretching the humanitarian community's response capacity in the country.
In a country where children make up 52 per cent of the population, conflict in Cabo Delgado Province continues to ravage communities. More than 1.3 million internally displaced persons, returnees and conflict-affected people require assistance. Insecurity and access constraints impede service provision in this extremely fragile and under-resourced province, where 16 per cent of schools and 21 per cent of health facilities are closed; 30 per cent of people lack access to safe water; and 68 per cent lack access to sanitation. Lack of access to these basic services violates children's rights.
The humanitarian crisis in Mozambique has increased the vulnerability of children, adolescents, persons with disabilities and women to abuse, exploitation, violence and psychosocial distress. Negative coping mechanisms are on the rise and more than 540,000 children in Cabo Delgado Province require child protection support. Grave violations of children’s rights in Cabo Delgado were 400 per cent higher in the first six months of 2024 compared to all of 2023, and there was a 300 per cent increase in civilian fatalities in the first half of 2024 compared with the second half of 2023.
Women, adolescents and girls have limited access to gender-responsive services and experience information gaps, lack of revenue sources and a risk of heightened exposure to gender-based violence. Together with the large gap between the number of people in need and those receiving assistance, sexual exploitation and abuse risks could also heighten.
Mozambique is vulnerable to disease outbreaks. From January to September 2024, 571 cases of measles were reported in four provinces, mainly Cabo Delgado Province, and the country remains at high risk of a large-scale outbreak, with more than 3.3 million children aged nine months to 14 years requiring urgent vaccination. More than 18 million children are at risk from two circulating strains of poliovirus. Risks of cholera, Mpox and other outbreaks require vigilant surveillance and contingency planning.
The 2023–2024 El Niño conditions resulted in inconsistent and sporadic rains, decimating local crop production in 2024. Lack of food, coupled with poor sanitation and hygiene practices, means that children are extremely vulnerable to malnutrition and disease. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification for Mozambique identifies nearly 3.3 million people in crisis or higher levels of food insecurity and 144,270 children under age five at risk of wasting. The La Niña weather pattern expected in late 2024 and early 2025 may result in heavy rainfall and another year of reduced or damaged harvests.