The United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Joyce Msuya, highlighted, on Monday, the efforts of the Government of Mozambique in combating terrorism, highlighting the resilience of the affected populations in the Northern region, especially in the face of challenges humanitarians.
“They’ve been through a lot, but even so, they keep going. It’s resilience,” Joyce Msuya told Lusa, moments after laying a wreath at Praça dos Heróis Moçambicanos, on the first day of a working visit by the deputy coordinator of UN Emergency Assistance to Mozambique.
In Mozambique, this head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has a week-long work schedule, which includes a visit to Cabo Delgado, a Mozambican province affected, since 2017, by incursions by rebel groups. “My plan is to meet with communities, organizations and partners in the humanitarian response. But at this point it is important to highlight the resilience of both the populations and the Government to continue moving forward”, added Joyce Msuya.
In addition to visiting Cabo Delgado, the official has scheduled meetings in Mozambique with various Government officials, including a meeting with the deputy minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. Cabo Delgado has been facing armed insurgency for six years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.
On the ground, the Armed Defense Forces of Mozambique have been fighting terrorism, which has had a negative impact on natural gas mega-projects, since July 2021 with the support of Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Maputo rises in the index against hunger
The Mozambican capital, Maputo, improved its position in the 2023 Global Hunger Index, presented yesterday in Lisbon by the association Ajuda em Ação, but still has a classification considered “serious”, influenced by armed attacks in the north of the country.
Despite the difficulties it faces, and the rating is still quite high, Mozambique showed improvements compared to previous results, from 2015, when it had 37 points on the index scale and was identified as “alarming”, now dropping to 30.5 points.
The armed conflict that has affected the north of the country since 2017 is one of the main factors contributing to the food crisis, explained today the director of Aid in Action in Mozambique, Jesus Perez, cited by Lusa during the presentation session of the report Global Hunger Index 2023.
The non-governmental organization (NGO) is present in Cabo Delgado, the region affected by armed conflict in recent years.