The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has announced that it needs US$222 million (14 billion meticals) to provide humanitarian assistance to 1.4 million Mozambicans affected by drought associated with the El Niño climate phenomenon.
According to the UN agency, the funds will be allocated to food security and livelihoods, with US$199 million, water, sanitation and hygiene, with US$11 million, and nutrition and general protection, with US$11.7 million.
According to a report by the agency, cited by Lusa, only $41.5 million, or 19% of the necessary funding, has already been disbursed. ‘The financial shortfall has severely limited the ability of humanitarian actors to provide timely and adequate assistance to those in need.’
Recently, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) estimated that more than 20 million people would face food insecurity in the region in early 2024, partly due to the effect of El Niño. The southern African region is one of the most affected by drought, where more than 77% of maize production has already been lost.
Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by global climate change, facing cyclical floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, which runs from October to April, but also prolonged periods of severe drought.
El Niño is a change in atmospheric dynamics caused by an increase in ocean temperature. This year, this meteorological phenomenon has caused torrential rains in East Africa, with hundreds of deaths in several countries, including Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, Somalia and Ethiopia.
