AfricaPress-mozambique: In an attempt to address a perceived “opportunism” in the enlistment of beneficiaries, the Red Cross of Mozambique (CVM) in Cabo Delgado has suspended humanitarian aid to displaced people living in the homes of relatives and friends.
Announcing the decision, Red Cross provincial secretary André Nhantabe said: “We are no longer going to support people in families. Henceforth, our humanitarian aid will go to reception centres for the displaced, because, house by house, it is not easy to know who is or is not a displaced person.”
Nhantabe said It had been verified that some of those enrolled on lists were not displaced persons and were illicitly benefiting from aid.
Even in resettlement centres, Nhantabe said, the Red Cross was having to impose procedures to ensure that the donations the organization received were reaching truly displaced people, especially the most needy.
“We do not seek to go into a community and find an already elaborated list, because we, the Red Cross, have the capacity to do that. Our volunteers are trained to judge a situation, to carry out a survey and properly prioritize so that donations we receive from people of good reach the truly needy,” Nhantabe said.
The suspension of aid to victims of terrorism sheltering outside resettlement centres could aggravate the humanitarian crisis in Cabo Delgado province, which has more than 400,000 displaced people, about half of whom live in conditions considered unsatisfactory with relatives.
