Mozambique: Food aid to 940,000 in the north may end in August for lack of funding – WFP

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Mozambique: Food aid to 940,000 in the north may end in August for lack of funding – WFP

3:07 CAT | 09 Jun 2022

The end of food aid in northern Mozambique was postponed for two months, but remains imminent due to lack of funds, a source from the World Food Program (WFP) said on Thursday in response to an enquiry by Lusa.

“If new funds are not received urgently, WFP risks having to stop life-saving assistance in August, 2022,” the UN agency announced.

In April, WFP was forced to cut food rations delivered to those displaced by the armed insurgency in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, and warned they may possibly be discontinued altogether in June.

The interruption was avoided, but rationing continues.

“Due to reduced funds, WFP was forced to cut food rations in half, which means that [beneficiaries] receive food which meets less than 40% of their caloric needs,” the body explained.

“WFP urgently needs US$86 million (€80.4 million) to provide food assistance to 940,000 people in the north in the next six months,” that is, until the end of the year, it detailed.

The population (about half of whom are children and young people) had fled, leaving everything they owned to seek refuge in safe areas of Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa.

Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas, but has been terrorized since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the Islamic State extremist group.

Since July 2021, an offensive by government troops with the support of Rwanda, joined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), allowed the recovery of areas from rebel control, but their flight has led to new attacks in other districts used for passage or temporary refuge.

Source: Lusa