UNICEF Mozambique Humanitarian Situation Report No. 10: 31 October 2022

Highlights

• A Conflict in Cabo Delgado remained tense with new areas attacked leading to 44,149 displacements in October

• UNICEF provided 20 emergency health kits to ten districts in Cabo Delgado to cover up to 20,000 people for three months

• In Cabo Delgado and Nampula provinces, the rehabilitation of 76 classrooms was completed benefiting nearly 15,700 children

• UNICEF supported the construction of 2,364 new latrines benefiting nearly 12,000 people in Cabo Delgado

• UNICEF supported the fifth round of polio campaign in central Mozambique vaccinating nearly 4.3 million children under five in four provinces

• In Cabo Delgado, UNICEF completed water source work providing access to safe water to 8,000 people

• UNICEF has a funding gap of 68 percent for 2022 putting at risk our ability to support children and their caregivers with lifesaving support

Situation in Numbers

520,579 children displaced in need of humanitarian assistance (IOM June 2022)

1,500,000 people in need in the north (OCHA June 2022)

946,508 Internally displaced people (IOM June 2022)

302,000 People in hard-to-reach areas (OCHA July 2022)

Funding Overview and Partnerships

UNICEF’s 2022 Humanitarian Action for Children appeal seeks US$98.8 million to sustain and expand the provision of life-saving services for women and children in Mozambique affected by conflict, Cyclone Gombe, and Tropical Storm Ana. UNICEF has received over $18.1 million in 2022 including generous contributions from the GAVI Vaccine Alliance, in support of UNICEF Mozambique’s humanitarian response to COVID-19, the United Kingdom, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Republic of Korea, who provided support for UNICEF’s response in the aftermath of Tropical Storms Ana and Gombe, and the World Bank, the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), and the Governments of Italy, Norway and USAID who provided support for UNICEF’s conflict-related activities in northern Mozambique. The 2022 HAC has a funding gap of 68 percent. To bridge the gap and ensure lifesaving services can continue, UNICEF has utilized core resources and humanitarian-development nexus funding for response activities totaling $11.7 million to meet urgent humanitarian needs. Additional earmarked resources for the polio response have been received and are in use. Due to the lack of available funds, UNICEF is struggling to support children and their caregivers with immediate needs. Prepositioning supplies for the 2022-2023 cyclone season is not possible.

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

In October the armed conflict in northern Mozambique remained tense and again spread into previously unaffected areas, driving additional displacements and increasing humanitarian needs. For the first time, non-state armed groups (NSAGs) targeted Namuno District in Cabo Delgado province, causing a wave of displacements into the district capital and neighbouring districts. NSAG-linked incidents were also recorded in Mueda, Nangade, Macomia, Chiure and Ancuabe Districts of Cabo Delgado, as well as Erati District in Nampula province. The International Organization for Migration’s Data Tracking Matrix recorded 44,149 displacement movements within Cabo Delgado between 21 September and 1 November 2022,1 while arrivals of displaced persons were also reported in the provinces of Niassa (2,370 people) and Nampula (1,056 people) during October.2 Return movements continued to areas currently facing limited basic services and humanitarian support, including IDPs arriving or departing towards Mocímboa da Praia District.3

In October, no new cases of wild or vaccine-derived poliovirus were detected. To date, in 2022 seven cases of wild poliovirus, six and eight cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus cVDPV2 and of cVDP1 respectively have been verified in Mozambique. Though October heralds the start of the rainy season in Mozambique, very little rain was recorded in the north of the country. Food insecurity is expected to increase during the lean season months of October and November, with a higher number of households facing integrated phase classification crisis-level (level 3) outcomes—using the Famine Early Warning System Network rating scale–in the country. Many poor households have already exhausted or nearly exhausted their food reserves.

Seasonal forecasts5 indicate that between November 2022 and January 2023, Mozambique will experience above-average precipitation in most of central and southern Mozambique, while normal-to-below-average rainfall is expected in most areas in northern Mozambique. During that same period, temperatures are also expected to be above average in most of Nampula and coastal areas of Cabo Delgado. Forecasting also noted the likelihood of six to 10 cyclonic events with three to five developing into cyclones during the season (October through April).

Source: UN Children’s Fund