More than 1.5 million people in three northern Mozambican provinces were in a food insecurity crisis or emergency situation in June, the Food Security Group said today, acknowledging that it had no resources.
According to the first-half report released by the group, which was created in 2011 and is jointly led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), the situation is being seen in the provinces of Niassa, Nampula and Cabo Delgado, the latter with 879,000 people in this situation, notably due to the terrorist conflict.
"FSC [Food Security Cluster] partners call on donors to support the 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan [HRP], which aims at US$172 million [€159.2 million] to meet the needs of approximately one million people, including those affected by conflict," according to the Food Security Cluster report, based on the latest analysis of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) in northern Mozambique.
The document added that the "humanitarian response in Cabo Delgado is severely hampered by inadequate resources."
“As of June 2024, the FSC’s PNRH is only 34% funded, a stark contrast to last year. This funding shortfall has forced FSC partners to make difficult decisions, such as reducing food rations to reach more beneficiaries or extending services among displaced people, host communities and returnees, thereby compromising the quality of assistance,” he said.
He also acknowledged that “despite intermittent access challenges due to road closures and insecurity,” partners on the ground “are prioritizing maintaining a presence on the ground and providing the necessary services and supplies.”
“The situation is dire, with more than half a million people displaced and 623,000 returned home in northern Mozambique. Widespread destruction and damage to infrastructure, including recently rehabilitated facilities, has disrupted services in conflict-affected districts and reversed development gains,” he said.
"The vulnerability of internally displaced people and returnees, who continue to depend on humanitarian assistance to survive, is significant. Returns often occur in remote areas where traditional community protection networks have not yet recovered," the report also acknowledged.
In recent months, "the security situation in Cabo Delgado has deteriorated sharply." Between December 26, 2023 and the end of May 2024, attacks by armed groups "displaced approximately 189,000 people," in "the largest displacement since 2017," the document noted.
"This violence has spread to several districts, including Ancuabe, Chiúre, Macomia, Mecufi, Metuge, Mocímboa da Praia, Muidumbe and Quissanga, with repercussions in the districts of Erati and Memba, in Nampula province. These attacks have expanded to previously unaffected areas, leading to a wider geographical distribution of operations", admitted the Food Security Group.
In addition, it added that the attack in the Macomia district, in May, "resulted in the suspension of assistance to 89,000 people, further worsening the crisis".
The Food Security Group coordinates food security responses during and after a humanitarian crisis, in the availability, access, utilization and stability of food, with a network of more than 1,000 partners in 29 countries.
Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed rebellion since October 2017 with attacks claimed by movements associated with the extremist group Islamic State.
The last major attack took place on May 10 and 11 at the district headquarters of Macomia, with around a hundred insurgents looting the town, causing several deaths and heavy fighting with the Mozambican Defense and Security Forces.
