German non-governmental organisation Johanniter International Assistance warned on Sunday, 19 July, that approximately 1.1 million people in northern Mozambique require humanitarian assistance, including 919,000 in Cabo Delgado province alone.
According to the news portal Agenzia Fides, the organisation reports that only half of those in need are currently receiving assistance, which remains insufficient to address the crisis that has afflicted the region for several years. The most pressing needs include healthcare, food assistance, education, and protection.
To address these challenges, the NGO has launched a set of assistance programmes with a twelve-month duration.
“In light of the ongoing conflict, our consortium is committed to restoring health, nutrition, protection, education, and assistance services for the most vulnerable,” said Morris Kolubah, Johanniter’s national director in Mozambique.
The announcement came one day after the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) published a report indicating that more than 12,000 people were forced to flee their homes in June alone due to violence in the region. Since the beginning of the year, more than 26,000 people have been displaced, of whom 80% are women and children.
The figures for June represent a sharp increase compared with earlier months of 2026, when monthly displacement had fallen to just a few hundred people. Even so, according to the OCHA report, the numbers remain significantly below those recorded in 2025.
OCHA notes that people fleeing their homes remain within Cabo Delgado province or move to neighbouring districts. This movement further aggravates the humanitarian crisis, as access to already scarce resources — affected not only by the conflict but also by the effects of climate change — becomes more complicated due to rising population density within a single district.
Both Johanniter and OCHA also highlighted a shortage of funding, which continues to undermine the response to the crisis. At the end of 2025, the United Nations launched Mozambique’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, requesting US$348 million to address the country’s protracted crises, including the emergency in Cabo Delgado. Six months later, only US$116 million had been mobilised, equivalent to 34% of the amount requested.
Cabo Delgado province has been affected by the insurgency since 2017, when the armed group Al-Shabaab carried out its first attack in the town of Mocímboa da Praia. Since 2019, the group has been affiliated with Islamic State and has combined jihadist ideology with propaganda targeting local communities and the region’s extractive industries, particularly activities linked to natural gas.
The most significant episode associated with insecurity in the region was the suspension of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project led by French energy company TotalEnergies on the Afungi peninsula, near the town of Palma. The suspension lasted several years, but the company has announced its intention to resume operations by the end of 2026.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/07/21/economia/desenvolvimento/cabo-delgado-mais-de-1-milhao-de-pessoas-necessitam-de-assistencia-humanitaria-alerta-organizacao-alema/
