Funding shortages may force the World Food Programme (WFP) to stop providing basic assistance in February to about one million people affected by armed violence in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, the agency warned on Friday.
“WFP’s funding situation has been worrying for some time and now we are running out of options. All these activities are at risk,” said Antonella D’Aprile, WFP’s representative in Mozambique, in a statement sent to Lusa today.
According to the WFP representative in Mozambique, the agency needs $51 million (about €49.5 million) to continue providing assistance to people affected by the conflict.
“The number of displaced people has quadrupled to almost a million people in the last two years,” Antonella D’Aprile said, warning that without additional support the agency could be forced to interrupt assistance in February, the “peak” of the “hunger season” in the country.
“Cabo Delgado is the most food insecure province in Mozambique and the situation continues to deteriorate,” she said.
According to the source, armed violence in Cabo Delgado has intensified in recent months, with attacks on districts near the provincial capital (Pemba) and in neighbouring Nampula province, forcing more people to flee their villages.
“In addition to challenges in funding its food assistance operations, WFP faces funding shortfalls for the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), which it administers on behalf of the entire humanitarian community,” added Antonella D’Aprile.
Cabo Delgado province has faced an armed insurgency promoted by rebels for five years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.
The insurgency has led to a military response since a year ago with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near gas projects, but new waves of attacks have emerged in the south of the region and in neighbouring Nampula province.
In five years, the conflict has left one million people displaced, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and about 4,000 dead, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.
Lusa
