Mozambique: Hunger persists, and under-five children are among the most hit

Children under the age of five are among the most hit by hunger as a direct result of the El Nino phenomenon that is affecting a great deal of the 11 provinces of Mozambican. Lack of food is exacerbating the already fragile context, battling to drop the number of malnourished children.

At the peak of the impact, World Vision Mozambique, with operations in Tete province, one of the most impacted provinces, witnessed school dropouts as children had to join their parents in search of alternatives to cope with the issue.

“We registered a number of internally displaced people and noticed a lot of children dropping out of school,” said Melode Aleixo calling for support in order to assist children and their families in Mutarara district.

World Vision has a Livelihood program under implementation, which seeks, among others, to support communities with income-generating activities, and the Livelihood Coordinator, Paulino Siquisse, reaffirmed that the situation continues to be critical, and the number of families so far in need of support is at 10,000.

Thanks to the support of different donors, including World Vision Korea, response to the impact of the phenomenon started, and more than 4200 families were assisted with seeds and encouraged to capitalize on the rainy season and grow food.

“The seeds were first distributed when rains started to fall in the district, allowing families to launch the seeds, now the lands are fertile,” said Siquisse.

According to Sequisse “World Vision, through the support so far secured, will open a field for the multiplication of orange-fleshed sweet potato plants, train the communities in sustainable agricultural and business practices, and establish (savings groups.)”

Saving Groups are local groups composed of 20 to 25 members who come together to save money in a year-cycle and borrow among themselves while generating income through a simple interest on top of the money borrowed.

These groups help members borrow money to open small businesses and cope with the impact of hunger while they grow their food.

World Vision is responding to the impacts of the El Nino Phenomenon in the provinces of Tete and Gaza where it aims to assist 90 000 people affected, and it’s still far from the 5 million required to provide assistance through the sectors of Food Security, Livelihood, Sanitation, and Hygiene, Protection, Education, Health, and Nutrition.