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Mozambique: Food Assistance Fact Sheet - June 12, 2019

Countries
Mozambique
+ 1 more
Sources
USAID
Publication date

Frequent natural disasters, prolonged dry spells, and destructive crop pests have hindered agricultural production in Mozambique, negatively affecting the livelihoods of farming households and making it more difficult for poorer households to afford enough food.

SITUATION

• Following landfall of tropical cyclones Idai and Kenneth in mid-March and late April, respectively, heavy flooding across Mozambique resulted in several hundred deaths, displaced tens of thousands of people, and caused extensive damage to homes, infrastructure, and crops. More than two million people were in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of the recent cyclones and an estimated 1.8 million acres of crops were damaged or destroyed, significantly affecting the April–May harvest and food security prospects for the remainder of 2019, according to the Government of Mozambique.

• Populations across Mozambique will likely face Stressed (IPC 2) and Crisis (IPC 3) levels of food insecurity through September, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).* Households in semiarid areas of southern Mozambique are facing the second consecutive year of poor harvests and as a result will face Crisis conditions.

• Additionally, Mozambique hosts several thousand refugees from elsewhere in the region, many of whom are highly dependent on humanitarian assistance to meet their daily food needs.

RESPONSE

• In response to cyclones Idai and Kenneth, USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP) provided more than $33 million in emergency food and nutrition assistance to communities across Mozambique.

• In response to food needs identified prior to the impact of recent cyclones, FFP partners with World Vision to provide emergency food assistance in Gaza and Inhambane provinces to communities impacted by the poor 2018–2019 agricultural season. The organization assists approximately 80,000 people per month with electronic food vouchers, which they use to purchase much-needed food from local markets.

• Additionally, with support from FFP, the UN World Food Program (WFP) implements food-for-asset (FFA) activities that provide monthly food rations of U.S.-sourced, in-kind food assistance to households in Gaza and Tete provinces during the ongoing lean season—the period of the year when food is most scarce. In exchange for a household member helping to create or repair community assets that build resilience to recurrent shocks—such as dams and irrigation systems— vulnerable families receive assistance to meet basic food and nutrition needs. Through WFP, FFP also supports refugees sheltering in Mozambique’s Nampula Province.