Mozambique

Significant challenges to food security and nutrition remain, nonetheless. Inadequate storage facilities lead to farmers losing 30 percent of their harvests to pests and mould, contributing to recurring lean seasons. A vast majority of Mozambicans are too poor to afford a nutritious diet, and malnutrition remains a major underlying cause of child mortality in children under 5.

Mozambique is also one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world and one of the most vulnerable places to extreme climate events such as droughts, floods and cyclones. In 2021, it was ranked at the top of the list of countries most affected worldwide by the impacts of extreme weather patterns, by the Global Climate Risk Index.

Climate shocks, coupled with annual lean seasons and economic shocks, regularly threaten food security. The Ukraine conflict has had a direct impact on food availability, as the country imports essential goods and commodities from Ukraine and Russia. Between November 2021 and March 2022, the number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) was almost 2 million. The Government of Mozambique recognizes food and nutrition security as key priorities within its five-year plan (2020-2024), which emphasizes the importance of access to food, improved living conditions and the development of human capital.

In the northern province of Cabo Delgado, escalating violence by non-state armed groups has caused mass displacement. As of June 2022, nearly one in three of the province’s inhabitants have been forced from their homes and/or livelihoods – almost half of them are children. This ongoing conflict is driving hunger in Cabo Delgado and in its neighbouring provinces, Niassa and Nampula, where 1.5 million people are now in need of urgent life-saving and life-sustaining humanitarian assistance. Cabo Delgado had the highest rates of chronic malnutrition (stunting) in Mozambique before the conflict, with more than half of children under 5 affected. Now, thousands are falling deeper into food insecurity.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has been operating in Mozambique since 1977. WFP supports the Government’s zero hunger agenda, with a focus on improving food and nutrition security as well as strengthening the resilience of individuals and communities in the face of multiple shocks.

The WFP Mozambique Country Strategic Plan (2022-2026) is aligned with national and UN priorities. It is anchored in climate adaptation, aiming to assist the country in mitigating and reversing the deteriorating food security and nutrition situation.