Mozambique: ‘Vital to invest in resilience of women, girls in the face of climate change’ – UN

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Mozambique: ‘Vital to invest in resilience of women, girls in the face of climate change’ – UN

10:50 CAT | 15 Mar 2021

File photo: Lusa

The representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said on Friday that Mozambique needs to invest in the resilience of women and girls in the face of climate change so that they are not “pushed back”.

“It is vital that we continue to work together to ensure that we invest in the resilience of women and girls, so that climate change does not become a catalyst to push women and girls further backwards,” said Andrea Wojnar, in a statement marking two years since the passage of cyclone Idai, which devastated central Mozambique.

According to the representative, due to cyclone Idai, more than 90 health facilities in the central region were destroyed, which greatly increased the likelihood of maternal deaths without access to health care.

“It has been two years since cyclone Idai hit Beira, and calculations showed that almost 75,000 women affected by floods and cyclones were pregnant, more than half of whom would give birth in the following six months,” she said, warning that the number of women and girls affected by climate crises “has increased substantially” in Mozambique.

“We cannot ignore the growing presence and impacts of climate change on the rights, health, protection and well-being of women and girls,” she stressed.

Cyclone Idai hit central Mozambique in March 2019, causing the death of more than 600 people and affecting 1.8 million others.

Around 90% of the city of Beira, the provincial capital of Sofala, was destroyed.

In the current rainy and cyclone season, which has been ongoing since October, central Mozambique has already been hit by cyclone Eloise in January and storm Chalane in late 2020, with an official tally of 19 deaths.

The natural disasters that have occurred in recent months in the country have interrupted and conditioned several access roads, isolating communities, which hinders humanitarian assistance.

Source: Lusa