Mozambique: Communities in Cabo Delgado receive assistance
“We ran into the bush and stayed there for over two weeks. There were 35 of us.”
Brohane and 35 members of his family fled Meluco District because of the armed conflict in Cabo Delgado, a province in northern Mozambique. After two weeks of sleeping in the bush, the family improvised a shelter in Ancuabe District. Currently, due to lack of good accommodation, they are all sleeping in the same tent.
Brohane is one of the 3,000 people who have received kits with materials for temporary shelters (tarpaulins, blankets, mats, mosquito nets and bars of soap) and kitchen sets (saucepans, dishes, cups, cutlery and a bucket), during a recent distribution recently in Ancuabe. With the tarps they have been given, Brohane hopes to build small shelters for all his family to stay in, so they can get on with their lives.
Since last year the ICRC has stepped up its assistance to people impacted by the hostilities. Part of its response to the crisis is this distribution, which has entailed assessing what people need and providing them with emergency relief.
The ICRC distributed 600 sets of cooking utensils and other essential household items in Ancuabe, in the Cabo Delgado area, where newly displaced people have arrived. A total of 3,000 people have received assistance. Photo: Azevedo Jaime/Mozambique Red Cross Society
Since December, fresh clashes sparked by the armed conflict have forced more families to flee for their lives, leaving their homes and livelihoods behind. The recent displacements, compounded by the effects of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, have worsened the situation for both residents and displaced people, who face difficulties every day as they struggle to rebuild their lives and get back to a level of normality.
The armed conflict in Cabo Delgado has also forced Araquima to flee with her children and grandchildren from Meluco to Ancuabe, where she is now staying with her sister.
"As soon as we get a plot of land I'll build a shelter, I'll cover it with the tarpaulin I've been given, and I'll live there with my grandchildren," says Araquima.
Emergency response
In 2021 we provided emergency relief for 67,000 people, distributing tarpaulins and essential household items, seeds, tools and fishing tackle.
This year, we plan to step up our distribution work, to help improve the living standards of affected communities in Mozambique's northern province.
