Mozambique received a technical visit from delegations from Ethiopia and South Sudan, interested in learning from and adapting the national model of monitoring, early warning, and multi-sector coordination in natural disaster risk management, in a context marked by increasing extreme weather events.
During the visit, the President of the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD), Luísa Meque, emphasized that the presence of the delegations represents a significant opportunity for experience sharing and joint learning. According to Meque, the impacts of natural disasters have worsened in recent years, largely due to climate change.
Meque explained that Mozambique has been responding to this scenario by continuously strengthening its risk management system, focusing on an integrated approach that involves multiple government sectors as well as international partners, with an emphasis on prevention, preparedness, and emergency response.
One of the main highlights of the visit was Mozambique’s Situation Room, located at the National Emergency Operations Centre. This facility is considered central to the national early warning system, allowing for better coordination of response actions during crises.
According to the INGD president, the Situation Room is the result of strategic partnerships with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the CIMA Foundation, the organization We World, and the Italian Civil Protection, which contributed technical support, equipment, and national staff training.
“The Situation Room was designed to enable real-time monitoring of extreme events, data analysis, and rapid, coordinated decision-making,” said Luísa Meque, adding that the system is linked to the Situation Rooms of the Southern African Development Community and the African Union.
Meque also revealed that during the 2024-25 rainy and cyclone season, the country was affected by three major cyclones, especially in the northern region. In parallel, droughts were recorded in some districts of the central and southern regions, affecting more than 2.4 million people.
For his part, the representative of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction to the African Union, Mathewos Tulu, stated that the visit’s main goal was to learn from Mozambique’s experience. “The expected outcome of this exchange is the development of a concrete action plan,” he said, emphasizing that the process will allow mutual learning among the countries involved.
Source: Mozambique News Agency (AIM)
