More than 160,000 people need urgent food support in the district of Maringué, in Sofala province, central Mozambique, as a result of the famine that is plaguing the region due to the low levels of rainfall recorded in the last rainy season, the newspaper Noticias reported on Tuesday, 15 October.
According to the information, due to the complicated scenario, several families, especially in the towns of Gumbalaçal and Senga-Senga, are feeding on wild fruit, and some have been forced to abandon their homes and take shelter in the neighbouring districts of Tambura and Machaze, in Manica province.
According to the Maringué district administrator, Maria Pulseira, the food shortage is caused by the current drought caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon, which was felt during the 2023-24 rainy season.
The source explained that the supplies recently provided by the government, through the National Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (INGD), were insufficient, emphasising that reinforcements are on the way.
Figures from the provincial authorities indicate that at least 219,000 people are at risk of food insecurity in Sofala due to the lack of rain. At the end of the first half of the year, it was revealed that 6,000 hectares had been lost in the districts of Chemba, Cala, Maringué and part of the agricultural districts of Machanga and Muara.
In March, the executive secretary of the Technical Secretariat for Food and Nutritional Security (SETSAN), Leonor Mondlane, revealed that food insecurity in Mozambique affects a total of 3.3 million people, due to droughts and floods.
‘A post-disaster study carried out last year estimated that, by March 2024, a total of 3.3 million people would still be living in a situation of food insecurity caused by various phenomena. These figures will be updated in April when we carry out a new assessment to determine the real scenario,’ she said.
At the time, she said that the people living in this situation depend largely on the assistance provided by the government and national and international partners. ‘The group in need includes victims of armed attacks in the province of Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country, and individuals affected by natural disasters,’ she clarified.
