Council of Ministers approves EUR 500,000 from the Foreign Disaster Fund (FDF)
In the Council of Ministers on 30 October 2019, the federal government approved payment of a further EUR 500,000 from the Foreign Disaster Fund - in addition to the EUR 1.25 million already provided - for the parts of Mozambique severely devastated by tropical storms in the spring. The humanitarian funds will be made available to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Mozambique.
"Mozambique has been a priority country for Austrian development cooperation for many years. Following the emergency humanitarian aid of EUR 1.25 million in spring 2019, the focus of our efforts is now on sustainable support for reconstruction," said Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.
Mozambique was hit twice in quick succession in the first half of 2019 by the most severe tropical cyclones in the country's recent history. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their livelihoods due to the storms and the considerable damage to agriculture and are now threatened by acute food shortages.
“Humanitarian aid must continue to be provided, especially in regions that have long been cut off from the outside world. Through our support, we are also making an urgently needed contribution to averting an impending catastrophic famine,” said the Foreign Minister.
The humanitarian situation in many parts of Mozambique remains precarious six months after the devastating cyclones Idai and Kenneth. According to OCHA, some 2.2 million people have been affected by the natural disasters. More than 1.8 million people are still dependent on urgent humanitarian aid. The affected regions are currently in a transition between repairing the damage and beginning reconstruction. In Mozambique, OCHA is responsible for coordinating humanitarian aid in order to ensure that it is handled as effectively as possible.