The Italian government has donated $2.1 million worth of food products to support populations affected by armed conflict in the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula, in the north of the country, as part of the international initiative “Grain from Ukraine.”
According to the Mozambique Information Agency (AIM), the initiative was proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, financed by partner countries, and implemented by the World Food Programme (WFP), with the aim of preventing hunger in African and Asian countries facing high levels of food insecurity by supplying agricultural products from Ukraine.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, the Italian ambassador to Mozambique, Gabriele Phillip Annis, considered it unusual that “a country involved in a war to defend its territory should not forget the lives of the women and men who benefit from its work, revealing itself to be a gesture of enormous value and true international solidarity.”
According to the diplomat, essential goods such as dried peas and vegetable oil from the Port of Odessa have already arrived at the Port of Nacala and are currently stored at WFP facilities in Pemba, from where they will later be distributed to families displaced by armed attacks in Cabo Delgado and Nampula.
The contribution is part of a total of $4 million in support provided by Italy to the initiative, with $2.1 million specifically allocated to WFP operations in northern Mozambique.
The support resulted in the provision of 523 metric tons of dried peas and 415 metric tons of vegetable oil, benefiting 446,004 people.
In turn, the national director and representative of the WFP in Mozambique, Claire Conan, acknowledged Italy’s contribution to humanitarian operations in the country and highlighted Ukraine’s leadership in promoting the initiative. However, she warned that needs continue to increase while funding is on a downward trend.
“In 2025, the WFP received less than half of the resources needed to respond to this growing vulnerability,” she said, stressing the importance of strengthening partnerships in a context of prolonged emergency.
She also noted that Italy has already confirmed additional support to assist families affected by recent climate shocks that have affected more than 700,000 people in the central and southern regions of the country.
“The WFP provided food to the National Institute for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction, enabling authorities to assist more than 75,000 displaced people through community kitchens in accommodation centers,” she added.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s ambassador to Mozambique, Rostyslav Tronenko, thanked Italy for its support for the initiative and revealed that it has already mobilized $370 million, enabling the shipment of 320,000 tons of agricultural products to 18 countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, benefiting around 20 million people.
“As confirmed at the Fourth International Summit on Food Security ‘Food from Ukraine’, held on November 19, 2025, in Kiev, we are ready to continue implementing humanitarian initiatives, ensuring the uninterrupted supply of essential food to the African continent,” he said.
Tronenko expressed solidarity with the Mozambican people affected by the armed conflict in the north and reiterated Ukraine’s commitment to continue supporting Mozambique in the area of food security, including through technology, equipment, and knowledge sharing.
