Mozambique: Organisations predict severe food insecurity level for 2.9 million by March

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Mozambique: Organisations predict severe food insecurity level for 2.9 million by March

5:20 CAT | 18 Jan 2021

File photo: Lusa

Humanitarian and government organisations estimate that 2.9 million people in Mozambique face high levels of severe food insecurity between January and March.

These are families who hardly know where the next meal will come from, or when, with each portion rarely meeting their basic needs.

“It is estimated that the number of people facing severe food insecurity will rise to 2.9 million in rural (approximately 2.1 million) and urban (800,000) areas throughout the country between January and March,” said the IPC (Integrated Classification of Food Security) report consulted on Monday by Lusa.

The most serious situation will continue in Cabo Delgado, where an armed conflict with terrorist links is causing a humanitarian crisis.

The report estimates that one-fifth of those suffering from severe food insecurity will be in that northern province, where the largest private investment in Africa for natural gas exploitation is advancing, but without solutions to contain the violence.

Other armed conflicts in the centre are sacrificing the population of Manica and Sofala provinces, who are still trying to recover from the impact of the 2019 cyclones.

The organisations also warn of the impact of drought, which puts Gaza and Inhambane provinces on alert.

The slowdown in the economy due to Covid-19 is also spreading food shortages in the main urban centres, the document notes.

“The situation is expected to improve between April and September 2021,” with the level of people in severe food insecurity standing at 1.7 million.

This improvement is based on the assumption that rural households will have access to food from their own production, that food prices will remain stable or decline, and that the impacts of Covid-19 will be minimal in rural areas.

The IPC report on Mozambique was coordinated by the Technical Secretariat for Food Security and Nutrition (Setsan, state entity) and brings together several analysis partners: government of Mozambique, National Institute for Disaster Management (INGD), Network of Early Warning Systems on Hunger (Fews), United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), Actionaid and World Vision.

Source: Lusa