Attachments
Overview
In 2023, Mozambique faced a series of challenges that continued to hamper and delay progress towards achieving sustainable development and zero hunger.
Mozambique is ranked 149 out of 166 countries in terms of total progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), having completed 53 percent of the 2030 agenda as of 2023 [1].
In Mozambique, WFP aims to eradicate hunger and malnutrition (SDG 2) and strengthen partnerships (SDG 17) while supporting national development priorities. Although major improvements have been achieved [2], SDG 2 and SDG 17 are progressing slowly and face numerous challenges, such as the ongoing conflict in the northern region, extreme weather events, volatile food prices, and unemployment, all of which contributed to severe food insecurity and malnutrition.
The conflict in the northern region, which started in 2017, has had periods of relative stability over the years but escalated towards the end of 2023 with more violence and attacks on districts previously unharmed. Three-quarters of a million individuals were still displaced as of December 2023 due to the violence [3]. Early in the year, WFP implemented vulnerability-based targeting in an effort to assist the most vulnerable households in Cabo Delgado afflicted by the conflict, regardless of their displaced or resident status. In addition to the northern crisis, Cyclone Freddy made landfall on two separate occasions in early 2023, impacting 1.2 million people [4]. The cyclone and the intense rainfall between February and March resulted in flooding, which disrupted water, sanitation, and hygiene services. Consequently, an outbreak of cholera followed, spreading across the provinces, with Zambezia most affected.
An estimated 3.1 million people were acutely food insecure at the peak of the lean season between January and March 2023, or approximately 1 out of 10 Mozambicans, with the numbers dropping to 2.6 million during the harvest season between May and September 2023. Of these, 17 percent were residents of the Cabo Delgado region [5].
In 2023, WFP assisted 2.5 million people, a 38 percent increase from the number of people WFP supported in 2022. To serve these many people, WFP was present in 111 districts across all provinces, working in close coordination and collaboration with districts and provincial authorities.
Under SDG 2, WFP delivered emergency food and nutrition assistance, supporting communities to improve their livelihoods and adapt to future shocks. WFP provided food assistance to over one million people affected by extreme weather and the conflict in the north as part of the emergency response. WFP’s malnutrition prevention and treatment initiatives reached 80,000 children and 30,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women. NutriSim, WFP's social behaviour community campaign that encourages people to make healthier food choices, reached additional districts in 2023. WFP's programmes improved children's nutritional intake and retention in schools by offering school lunches and take-home rations to children in emergency settings.
WFP expanded its resilience and livelihoods support initiatives shaping a more sustainable food system for smallholder farmers.
Under SDG 17, WFP collaborated with the Government to enhance its capacity to support its population. WFP organized a large-scale short message service as part of an early warning campaign in collaboration with the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction and the National Operational Emergency Center in preparation for Cyclone Freddy. WFP also supported the Government’s recovery efforts by delivering essential supplies, clean water, and other commodities via air and road and assisted Mozambique's Technical Secretariat for Food Security and Nutrition (SETSAN) in carrying out post-shock assessments to evaluate the cyclone's effects on the nutrition and food security of the impacted population.
WFP supported the Government-led national school feeding programme (PRONAE) and partnered with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Human Development, and the National Nutrition Rehabilitation Programme on nutrition initiatives in the country. WFP also supported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADER) with post-harvest loss programmes and staff training to enhance smallholder farmers' market access and sales.
In partnership with the National Institute for Social Action (INAS) and the Ministry of Gender, Child, and Social Action (MCGAS), WFP continued to provide financial assistance to families recuperating from the adverse economic effects of COVID-19.
WFP worked with MADER, the National Meteorology Institute (INAM), SETSAN, and the National Directorate for Hydric Resources to strengthen the Government's ability to anticipate, respond to, and recover from disasters. WFP collaborated with government agencies to procure two African Risk Capacity (ARC) replica policies against drought and cyclones and to enhance their capabilities in pricing monitoring, food security and nutrition monitoring, employing artificial intelligence and drones for rescue missions, and conducting damage assessments.
Furthermore, WFP provided on-demand services to humanitarian partners and the government sector to assist in their project implementation and help a broader spectrum of people in need.
WFP advocates for gender equality in all activities. Specific attention was given to pregnant and breastfeeding women, girls and children under 2, individuals living with HIV, and people with disabilities. WFP engaged women smallholder farmers in initiatives to enhance their leadership skills, financial and functional literacy, and negotiation abilities. WFP also ensured that assisted communities had two-way communication by providing them with accessible community feedback mechanisms. These resulted in a gender and marker score of 3 or 4 in all WFP programmes, indicating complete integration of gender and age considerations.