Mozambique will receive a total of £10.5 million (€12 million) from the UK this year for humanitarian support, an official source announced on Friday.
“As part of a global humanitarian increase by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, Mozambique has received an additional £7.55 million [almost €9 million] for its humanitarian programme,” the UK embassy said in a statement.
The support is guaranteed for at least the next three years, and its reinforcement is justified by the armed conflict in northern Mozambique and the natural disasters it faces cyclically.
“The most vulnerable people are bearing most of the burden of these events and that’s why we want to reach these people with adequate and timely assistance,” emphasised the UK High Commissioner in Mozambique, Helen Lewis, quoted in the document.
The support, which will be made available through non-governmental organisations, will be used to anticipate and prepare for disasters or displacement, as well as to provide birth certificates and national identity cards to vulnerable people.
“The increase is expected to reach an additional 250,000 people over the next three years and provide predictable funding for existing partners,” the document adds.
The province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed insurgency since October 2017, with attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State, incursions that have already caused more than a million displaced people and a humanitarian crisis in the north of the country.
The country is also considered one of the countries most severely affected by climate change in the world, facing cyclical floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, which runs from October to April.
Lusa
