Mozambique: Ireland provides €2.2M to help the displaced in Cabo Delgado

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Mozambique: Ireland provides €2.2M to help the displaced in Cabo Delgado

8:10 CAT | 10 Dec 2020

Photo: Twitter / @IrlEmbMaputo

Ireland has provided €2.2 million to support assistance to people displaced by armed violence in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Thursday.

“With the Irish contribution, WFP will be able to provide vouchers to 75,000 internally displaced people over a two-month period. These vouchers are not only a way to support local markets, but also allow beneficiaries to buy food and other essential items,” said the statement from WFP, one of the UN agencies that has been coordinating support for people in Cabo Delgado.

Today Ambassador O’Brien signed an agreement with WFP to provide €2.2m in support of their #humanitarianresponse to the crisis in Cabo Delgado, where over 500,000 people have already been forced to flee their homes #Working4IRL @dfatirl #Mozambique pic.twitter.com/grSSELYy0A

— Ireland in Mozambique (@IrlEmbMaputo) December 10, 2020

The armed violence in that northern province of Mozambique is causing a humanitarian crisis with around 2,000 deaths and 560,000 displaced people, who have no housing or food, mainly concentrated in the provincial capital, Pemba.

According to the WFP, which has already distributed the vouchers to at least 375,000 displaced people, the Irish support comes at an opportune time, given that the agency is looking for ways to ensure that assistance covers all displaced people in that province.

“This funding comes at a critical time, needs are increasing rapidly due to the escalation of violence in Cabo Delgado,” said Antonella D’Aprile, the WFP representative in Mozambique, quoted in the document.

The agency said it needed a total of US$117 million (€96.5 million) to continue its work throughout the country, but so far it has only a tenth of the amount needed – US$11.7 million (€9.6 million).

“Without additional support, the WFP operations will be compromised leading to a reduction or even suspension of food distribution to the needy,” the document said.

The conflict in Cabo Delgado is having a devastating impact on the local population, over 500,000 of whom have been forced to flee their homes. Ireland is committed to supporting humanitarian efforts to provide essential services to these communities @WFP @wfp_mozambique https://t.co/u3MRoijhRS

— Ireland in Mozambique (@IrlEmbMaputo) December 10, 2020

Cabo Delgado province, where the largest private investment in Africa is currently being made to exploit natural gas, has been under attack by insurgents for three years and some of the incursions have been claimed by the ‘jihadist’ Islamic state group since 2019.

Source: Lusa