Post-cyclone support from the European Union helps WFP deliver effective emergency response and fight hunger in Mozambique
MAPUTO - This year, the European Union (EU) contributed nearly €4 million in humanitarian funding to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Mozambique, supporting people affected by Cyclones Idai and Kenneth as well as providing logistics support to the humanitarian community operating in the country.
In the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Idai, the EU contributed €1 million in support of logistics operations that supported the emergency response coordinated by Mozambique’s National Disasters Management Institute. WFP was able to deploy three transport helicopters and a cargo aircraft to Beira to transport food, water, medicines, tents, other essential relief items, as well as humanitarian responders. This was crucial in the delivery of life-saving assistance to the most affected and isolated communities.
“We are very grateful to the European Union for their continuous support throughout this extremely challenging year,” said Karin Manente, WFP Representative in Mozambique. “Although the worst is over, humanitarian needs persist and many communities still struggle to meet their basic food needs.”
The EU’s funding for the post-cyclone response enabled WFP to provide emergency food assistance to the central and northern provinces of Sofala, Manica, Zambezia, Tete, Cabo Delgado and Nampula, which were severely hit by the cyclones. The assistance was mainly distributed through food vouchers, allowing families to buy foods of their choice while boosting markets in cyclone-affected areas. WFP also delivered emergency food items to parts of Cabo Delgado province, where vouchers were not possible.
In the areas devastated by Cyclone Kenneth, WFP worked in close collaboration with partners such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to ensure a coherent and efficient response. Thanks to EU support, WFP and IOM provided integrated food and shelter assistance to the most vulnerable communities in Cabo Delgado province.
During the peak of the Mozambique emergency, from March to August 2019, WFP supported 2.3 million people with food assistance - funded by the EU and other donors. Following the immediate life-saving phase of the response, from August to October, WFP continued to provide food assistance to 625,000 of the most vulnerable people.
WFP aims to double its support, reaching 1.2 million people per month until March 2020 to address high levels of food insecurity in disaster-affected areas of the country. According to the latest assessments, 1.9 million people are at risk of hunger from November 2019 to March 2020, if adequate food assistance is not provided in a timely manner.
The European Union is a long-standing partner of WFP in Mozambique. The 2019 funding brings its total contribution to WFP’s operations in the country to almost €30 million over the past ten years.
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