AfricaPress-mozambique: The U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), awarded $30 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) to address food insecurity in communities affected by ongoing violence in Cabo Delgado and those affected by natural disasters in Sofala and Manica provinces. The United States government is the largest donor to WFP in Mozambique, with a total of $130 million in contributions since 2018.
On June 15, U.S. Ambassador to Mozambique Dennis W. Hearne and WFP Executive Director David Beasley met to discuss the U.S.-WFP partnership in addressing the needs of the nearly 800,000 internally displaced people in Mozambique and their host communities. “The humanitarian situation in northern Mozambique is concerning,” said Ambassador Hearne. “The U.S. Government remains committed to supporting the government of Mozambique and the Mozambican people to respond to this complex crisis,” he said. “This includes assisting the many Mozambican families and communities that have been hosting their neighbors, displaced from their homes due to violence in Cabo Delgado.”
Director Beasley said, “We are incredibly grateful for this generous contribution and the support of the United States here in Mozambique. Through WFP’s life-saving assistance for families affected by conflict, we are planting the seeds of peace. But this is not enough,” he said. “We must work harder together to ensure the longer-term recovery and well-being of the people, helping them to move forward and giving them hope for a better future.”
WFP will use most of the $30 million in new funding to provide emergency food assistance to 116,500 Mozambicans displaced by the violence in Cabo Delgado, offer nutritional support to displaced children, and provide 7,600 refugees with food donations and food vouchers. The funding will also cover critical logistics, coordination, and information management support for the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) and provide emergency food assistance to more than 30,000 Mozambicans affected by the cyclones in Manica and Sofala provinces.
Security programs are a critical component of the broader U.S. Government assistance in Mozambique aimed at meeting the immediate needs of affected communities and building resilience for future emergencies. In close collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Mozambique, the U.S. Government provides more than $500 million in annual assistance to improve the quality of healthcare and education, promote economic prosperity, and support the overall development of the nation.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) leads the U.S. Government’s international development and disaster assistance through partnerships and investments that save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance, and help people emerge from humanitarian crises. For more information about USAIDs work to foster sustainable development and advance human dignity visit www.usaid.gov.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
