The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has characterised the situation in Mozambique as an “invisible emergency” three times in the last four years. This situation is explained by insecurity and natural disasters, and has led to the forced displacement of more than a million people in the northern and central districts.
“Mozambique is one of the countries most affected in the world by climate change,” emphasised Joana Feliciano, Head of Marketing and Communication at Portugal com ACNUR/UNHR. In 2022 alone, tropical cyclone Gombe caused more than 700,000 internally displaced people, according to Feliciano.
In an interview with the Lusa news agency, Joana Feliciano also highlighted the instability unleashed by armed groups which, combined with natural disasters, has resulted in more than a million internally displaced people in the country’s northern and central districts.
“We’re talking about forcibly displaced people. We had an increase of 4 million compared to June and we think that in just three months this means that more than one in 73 people are displaced and are looking for safety and assistance, sometimes without being able to start their lives again.”
Underfunding to deal with emergencies – in 2023 it led to less than two thirds of the people in need of help being reached – is the main threat to the UNHCR’s intervention, explained Joana Feliciano, considering the case of Mozambique to be paradigmatic.
“These people are in a very vulnerable position and are exposed to trauma at every stage of their displacement. This is because they suffer not only from being separated from their families and homes of origin, but are also often victims of xenophobia, lack of livelihood opportunities and go through extremely dangerous journeys.”
By 2024, almost 300 million people around the world will be in need of humanitarian assistance and protection due to conflicts, climate emergencies and other factors. Around 74 million of these people are in East and Southern Africa.
According to the UN, the crisis in Sudan is responsible for almost 40 per cent of this total, with the needs of the country and the region increasing since the conflict broke out in April this year.
RFI
