Chibabava, Mozambique, Feb. 9, 2025 (Lusa) - An official source said on Sunday that around 32,000 families in the Chibabava district, in the centre of Mozambique, are facing food insecurity due to the impacts of the El Niño weather phenomenon.
‘At the moment, we have around 32,000 families in a situation of food insecurity who live on remittances and the sale of small animals. The most affected area is the Goonda administrative post, which is our granary in cereal production,’ said Hélder Alberto, director of the district services for economic activities in the Chibabava district of Sofala, in statements quoted by the media today.
According to Alberto, the local government has assisted around 4,100 families affected by the drought, especially those in the Goonda administrative post in the Chibabava district.
The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) recently estimated that around 4.8 million people need humanitarian assistance in Mozambique, with $64 million (€60.6 million) needed to meet the needs.
‘The multiple crises currently affecting Mozambique - conflict, drought and public health emergencies - are straining humanitarian resources. Around 4.8 million people need humanitarian assistance (10% of people with disabilities), including 3.4 million children,’ according to a statement from Unicef.
In September last year, the United Nations (UN) said that nearly two million people needed humanitarian assistance in the country.
‘This year, Mozambique was affected by drought induced by the El Niño phenomenon during the 2023-2024 season. It is estimated that around 1.8 million people could face food insecurity between October and March 2025. Faced with this situation, the need for humanitarian assistance for the affected communities has been increasing, especially in Mozambique's central and southern regions,’ explained the organisation.
Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by global climate change. During the rainy season, from October to April, the country experiences cyclical floods and tropical cyclones.
El Niño is a change in atmospheric dynamics caused by increased ocean temperature. This meteorological phenomenon is also causing torrential rains in East Africa, which have already caused hundreds of deaths in several countries, such as Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, Somalia and Ethiopia.
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