Cyclone recovery: Mozambique needs US$3.2 billion and aid is less than expected, government says

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Cyclone recovery: Mozambique needs US$3.2 billion and aid is less than expected, government says

2:43 CAT | 25 Oct 2019

File photo: Lusa

Mozambique needs US$3.2 billion to recover from Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, a government official announced yesterday, admitting that the country thought it would receive more money when it launched the appeal.

“We thought we were going to be able to raise more money when we launched our call,” said Nadia Adrião, representative of the Government of Mozambique at a cyclone conference held yesterday in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare.

According to a statement from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the three affected countries need US$4 billion to cope with the impact of the two cyclones, which killed hundreds of people and left 1.8 million homeless or without access to basic needs.

Of the US$4 billion, Mozambique needs US$3.2 billion (about €2.7 billion), while Malawi needs US$370 million and Zimbabwe between US$600 and US$700 million, according to the UN.

“We did not get the amount [of aid] we wanted, but even so, we are still making strides with what has been made available so far, although much remains to be done,” the Mozambican government spokesperson said.

Cyclone Idai, which hit central Mozambique in March, killed 604 people and affected about 1.5 million people, while Cyclone Kenneth, which struck the north of the country the following month, killed 45 people and affected 250,000 people.

Yesterday’s Zimbabwe conference brought together “a record 140 people” who are debating infrastructure reconstruction strategies and mechanisms for combating climate change in those three countries under the motto ‘Building Back Better’.

Source: Lusa