The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that Mozambique’s northern region experienced an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis in June, driven by lack of funding, natural disasters, and rising armed violence in the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Niassa.
“The escalation of violence by non-state armed groups has continued to trigger new displacements, disrupt essential services, severely restrict movement, worsen food insecurity, and hinder the delivery of life-saving assistance,” the agency stated in a report released on Monday, July 7, by Lusa.
According to the UN agency, on June 24 alone, 568 people — including 324 children — fled attacks by armed groups in the village of Quinto Congresso, in Macomia district, raising the total number of people displaced by conflict to 48,000 since January 1. Many of the affected individuals are in urgent need of food, shelter, basic goods, and clean drinking water.
“The conflict continues to impact people’s protection needs. At the beginning of 2025, Cabo Delgado recorded a 22% increase in gender-based violence cases compared to 2024,” the report added.
The publication noted that the government facilitated the return of populations to their areas of origin in the districts of Macomia, Metuge, and Montepuez in Cabo Delgado, and more recently to Mecula in Niassa — mainly due to inadequate humanitarian aid and overcrowding in displacement sites. “Returning populations are finding nothing in their places of origin, as their homes, farmland, and livelihoods have been destroyed, and basic services have not been restored,” the report said.
The UN agency also highlighted ongoing needs and gaps following recent cyclones, compounded by funding constraints. “People affected by the three cyclones — which caused about 175 deaths and destroyed thousands of homes and infrastructure — have not received adequate assistance.”
“Initial assessments conducted since March in the districts of Lalaua and Muecate in Nampula, in the north of the country, revealed that a total of 70,000 people were affected by the cyclones but received no assistance,” it added.
Another concern raised by OCHA is the 26% decline in humanitarian funding between 2024 and 2025, dropping from $74 million to $55 million. “As a result, around 260,000 people have lost access to hygiene services, while 200,000 remain without adequate shelter. Additionally, the laboratory sample collection program — which served 25,000 people per month, mainly those with HIV and tuberculosis — was abruptly discontinued,” the report concluded.
Since October 2017, Cabo Delgado — a province rich in natural resources, especially gas — has been the scene of an armed insurgency that has caused thousands of deaths and triggered a humanitarian crisis displacing more than one million people.
In April, the attacks spread to neighboring Niassa province. One of the most serious incidents occurred in the Niassa Reserve and the Mariri Environmental Center in Mecula district, where non-state armed groups attacked facilities, looted supplies, and destroyed camps and an aircraft. These acts resulted in at least two deaths and displaced over 2,000 people — 55% of whom are children.
Source: DE
