Mozambique: Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2025 ...
Executive summary
In 2024, the compound effects of armed conflict in Cabo Delgado province, and vulnerability to natural hazards countrywide drove humanitarian needs in Mozambique.
The year 2024 was marked by a recrudesce of the conflict in coastal districts of Cabo Delgado. The operational environment became more complex as non-State armed groups demonstrated increased capacity to plan and execute complex attacks. In Chiúre district, in February, there was an unprecedented attack that displaced nearly 96,000 people and destroyed civilian infrastructure. In May, an attack on Macomia District Headquarters affected displaced people and the local population, including many returnees. The attack resulted in widespread looting of humanitarian supplies and disruption of humanitarian operations. In both districts, schools in affected areas remained closed for a long period of time with Macomia district having all schools and health and nutrition centers closed for nearly four months. Combined with increased non-State armed groups (NSAG) access to military-grade weapons and – as a new development - the use of Improvised Explosive Devises (IEDs), the operational environment is becoming increasingly complex, affecting humanitarian access and the ability to reach people in need. In July, Mozambique's defense forces, with military assistance from the Rwanda Defense Forces, began military operations, including the use of aerial bombings, to reclaim NSAG-controlled areas. This has resulted in civilian deaths and displacements. The NSAGs have split, seeking refuge in other parts of the province expanding their geographical presence. Overall, there has been a 400 per cent increase in attacks between 2023 and 2024.
Attacks against civilians increased significantly. Grave violations of children's rights quadrupled in the first half of 2024, compared to the entirety of 2023; one in three people are food insecure. Violence against civilians, recruitment and use of child soldiers by non-State armed groups (NSAGs) as well as attacks on schools and hospitals were recorded. More people were internally displaced in the first five months of 2024 than in the previous three years combined (close to 200,000 people. The pace of returns in Mozambique slowed since early 2024. Some 610,000 people had returned to conflict-affected areas since 2022, often relocating to district capitals. Returnees face significant vulnerabilities, as basic services have not fully resumed, and livelihood opportunities remain constrained by ongoing insecurity.
Despite these challenges, nearly all returnees plan to stay in their areas of origin, so long as no further attacks occur. Many displaced people are motivated to return home due to limited opportunities and poor conditions or low level of assistance in their current locations. As displacement becomes prolonged, displaced individuals are considering local integration. Many displaced people who choose to stay, do so out of necessity, rather than successful integration into their current communities.
The displaced population remained vulnerable amid scarcer resources. An estimated 580,000 people remain displaced, predominantly women and children, with the largest concentrations in Pemba, Metuge, and Macomia. Assistance levels in these areas have become inadequate due to reduced funding throughout the year, leading to rising tensions between internally displaced people (IDPs) and host communities, and a deepening cycle of poverty among both groups.
For example, food distribution in 2024 took place every other month, providing only 39 per cent of the required kilocalories monthly. Vulnerabilities deepened as evidenced by the increasing number of people experiencing emergency levels of hunger and malnutrition.
By the end of August 2024, humanitarian partners reached an estimated 1.28 million people, including 669,000 women and over 733,000 children, supporting internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees as well as host communities. But assistance remained insufficient and was not regularly provided. Mozambique is one of the countries in Africa most exposed to extreme climate shocks, including drought, flooding and cyclones. In 2024, the effects of an El Niño-induced drought caused a spike in food insecurity, with some 1.8 million people in IPC3+ (including 510,000 in IPC4), and acute malnutrition as a result of the rapid depletion of stocks, limited access to income, and above-average food prices.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) post-shock assessment crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes are expected to persist through March 2025, particularly in the central region, at least until the next harvest season in April-May. In August, a drought appeal, running from August 2024 to July 2025, was launched, targeting 1.4 million people in the most affected districts to respond to the worst drought in at least 40 years.
With a potential La Niña effect in November 2024-January 2025, the frequency and intensity of rains and tropical cyclones is expected to increase in the southwestern Indian Ocean and floods are expected, including in areas currently affected by drought. The National Institute for Disaster Management estimates that at least 2.2 million people will be at risk of urban/rural floods, drought, tropical cyclones and strong winds during the 2024/2025 rainy/cyclonic season (October-April).
Both conflict and climate-related crises are exposing women and girls to enhanced risks of gender-based violence, harmful practices and negative copying strategies, and fragilizing their resilience. Access to basic services remains partial for maternal, sexual and reproductive health, education, nutrition and protection; safe water and adequate sanitation remain challenging, impacting on menstrual hygiene and on female workload and safety.
Against this backdrop, the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan requires US$352 million to meet the most urgent humanitarian needs. This includes $326 million for conflict, $17 million for readiness to respond to natural disasters, $7.5 million is for anticipatory action and an additional $1.9 million is for public health emergency preparedness and initial response. In 2025, Mozambique will further strengthen its engagement in Anticipatory Action and make humanitarian assistance more proactive and risk informed. Building on existing efforts mainly focused on mitigating the impact of drought, humanitarian partners will expand coverage to protect more people from more hazards, including cyclones, floods and cholera.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.
