Attachments
Highlights
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In the first half of 2023, Mozambique was hard hit by floods and Cyclone Freddy affecting nearly 1.4 million people
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A cholera outbreak affected 33,076 people causing the death of 141 people; 60% of cases were in Zambezia and Sofala Provinces
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In the north, security incidents have reduced in 2023 with sporadic attacks
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UNICEF reached more than 2.7 million people with key messages on cholera prevention
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Over 1.2 million people were reached with UNICEF’s critical WASH supplies
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801 frontline staff and partners were trained in PSEA in cyclone-and cholera-affected areas
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Over 21 million children under 15 years were vaccinated against polio
Funding Overview and Partnerships
Following the events of early 2023, the UNICEF Mozambique Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal was revised. It outlines the need for $169 million to sustain the provision of life-saving services for nearly 2.5 million children and families in Mozambique affected by multiple shocks, including those affected by conflict in northern Mozambique,
Cyclone Freddy, and the cholera outbreak. UNICEF has received $19 million for conflict, cholera, and cyclones/floods from the governments of Canada, Japan, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway,
Ireland, South Korea, Sweden, the European Union, and UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). To meet urgent cyclone and cholera needs, UNICEF Mozambique also utilized core resources and reprogramming of funds and received allocations from UNICEF’s Global Humanitarian Thematic Funds.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
The first semester of 2023 was marked by increased humanitarian needs caused by floods, two landfalls of Cyclone Freddy and a nationwide cholera outbreak on top of existing needs due to the conflict in the north of the country. Cyclone Freddy struck Mozambique on 24 February in Vilankulos District of Inhambane Province bringing tropical storm-strength winds and heavy rains, and then a second time on 11 March in Namacurra District of Zambezia Province, bringing heavy rains and severe flooding affecting Zambézia as well as three additional provinces Sofala, Tete and Niassa.
Overall, Cyclone Freddy affected over 1.3 million people, with over 184,000 people temporarily displaced and 200 lives lost in eight provinces. Over 123 health facilities, six water supply systems, and 250 water points were damaged or partially destroyed and over 960 km of road was damaged. In addition, 3,754 classrooms were destroyed affecting nearly 395,000 students and 6,972 teachers. In February, heavy rains were recorded in Maputo province, including Maputo city dumping more than two months’ worth of rain in nine days affecting over 43,000 people, killing 10, displacing 14,800 people and damaging 35 health facilities.
In northern Mozambique, though pockets of insecurity persisted, the first half of the year saw a reduction in the number of conflict-related incidents as a result of attacks by non-state armed groups and clashes with national and international armed forces compared to the same period in 2022. This trend contributed to the return of 420,200 displaced people by April 2023, compared to 352,437 in November 2022. In the same period, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) reduced by 19 per cent, with 834,304 IDPs identified as of April 2023.2 Mozambique has been reporting cholera cases since September 2022. The cholera outbreak deteriorated during the rainy season, and significantly after Cyclone Freddy’s landfall, expanding to all provinces. As of 29 June, the Ministry of Health (MoH) reported a total cumulative of 33,076 cases and 141 deaths (0.4% fatality rate) with Zambezia and Sofala recording 63 percent of the cases and 48 percent of deaths. In response to the outbreak, the MoH conducted three rounds of the oral cholera vaccination campaign in high-incidence districts of six provinces, reaching 2,484,412 people of whom 554,918 were children below 5 years old.