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Writes Felicidade Banze
MAPUTO (Mozambique) – Mozambique’s National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD) has begun the distribution of more than eighty tons of food products to people affected by hunger in the country’s central province of Sofala where more than 13 000 people are facing acute hunger.
INGD’s delegate in Sofala, Aristides Armando said the aid is aimed at minimizing the food insecurity of around thirteen thousand families who have been facing a food crisis for several months.
The origin of the problem is the drought associated with the El Niño climate phenomenon, which had a major impact on the districts of Marínguè, Chemba, and Caia.
Aristides Armando said that the priority in distributing food will be given to the hard-hit Marínguè district where more than eight thousand families who are dependent on food aid are living.
“As we know our country is facing issues linked to lack of food, there is drought in some areas, I was in Caia and Chemba, and we learned that there are serious problems. The lack of rain is what leads to a lack of food”, said the official.
In turn, Armando assured that the strategic assistance plan for families affected by the food crisis in the two districts has already been completed.
“We are developing early actions within a budget of seven million meticais that we have made available to serve a total of 13,122 families adding that “we will rehabilitate water wells, improve traditional stations, acquire and install drip irrigation systems. drop by drop, acquire and distribute manual irrigation, establish greenhouses for vegetable production, acquire and distribute cassava and sweet potato seeds”.
The district of Maringue is the most affected with more than 160,000 people at risk of food security in the province of Sofala, as a result of the drought that is ravaging the region due to the poor rainfall recorded in the last rainy season.
Local authorities have said the situation is so complicated that several families, mainly from the localities of Gumbalaçal and Senga-Senga, feed on wild fruits, with some being forced to flee their homes and take shelter in neighboring districts of Tambura and Machaze, in the province of Manica.
According to Maringué district administrator, Maria Pulseira, the food shortage is caused by the current drought caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon, which struck the region during the 2023-24 rainy season.
Pulseira explained that the supplies recently provided by the Government, through the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD), were insufficient, highlighting that reinforcements are on the way.
