Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Norwegian government will donate $3.2 million (€2.9 million) to strengthen assistance to vulnerable people in Cabo Delgado, a province in Mozambique that has been affected by an armed insurgency since 2017.
The amount will be given to the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), which will carry out social projects to support vulnerable groups due to the conflict in that northern Mozambican province, according to an official note distributed after the signing of the memorandum formalising the support.
“As part of the overall objective of improving food security and the economic resilience of communities in Cabo Delgado, AKF will implement a set of additional actions over a period of 12 months through the agreement signed. The actions will be integrated and will bolster ongoing initiatives,” the statement said.
The programmes will target young people, women and disadvantaged people in the communities, with gender and diversity being a cross-cutting issue, the document adds.
“The additional actions fall into two broad categories: actions geared towards education and teaching at the Bilibiza Agricultural Institute, covering learning, infrastructure and the sustainability of its Campus in Ócua, in the Chiúre District and actions to improve communities through services and the transfer of knowledge and technology,” the document said.
The province of Cabo Delgado has been facing armed insurgency for almost six years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.
On the ground in Cabo Delgado, the Mozambican Armed Defence Forces have been fighting terrorism – in attacks that have been taking place since October 2017 and which are hampering the progress of natural gas production projects in the region – since July 2021, with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Despite a relative stabilisation of the security situation with the support of foreign forces, last week saw another attack in Mocímboa da Praia, also claimed by the Islamic State terrorist organisation through its propaganda channels, an incursion that left at least 10 people dead in Naquitenge, a village in the interior of the district.
The conflict in northern Mozambique has displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and caused around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, while the Mozambican President has admitted to “more than 2,000” fatalities.
For More News And Analysis About Mozambique Follow Africa-Press
