This week, 6,000 people received home necessities from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in response to a fresh wave of displaced persons in Northern Mozambique.
After being driven from the Ancuabe district over the past few weeks by the war, the displaced families have now landed in Mieze, Cabo Delgado province.
“It breaks my heart to witness the awful state in which people arrive.
The ICRC Economic Security Coordinator in Mozambique, Abdirizak Ahmed Maalim Mohamednoor, claims that entire families leave their houses empty-handed.
“Mieze residents welcomed the refugees into their homes, but they also have large families, and sometimes the situation is hazardous. He continues, “Some families don’t have a roof over their heads.
In Mieze, displaced individuals staying with host families or in relatives’ homes were given tarpaulins, buckets, blankets, mosquito nets, soap, and culinary supplies like pots and utensils.
The cumulative humanitarian effects of the ongoing armed conflict are causing the ICRC growing alarm.
Many of the recently uprooted families had travelled to Ancuabe from other locations in quest of protection; this was the second uprooting they had gone through.
They were forced to evacuate on foot or by bus, arriving at new locations with no means of subsistence.
Families frequently split up when travelling, leaving many kids without adult guardians.
55 percent of those who have recently been relocated are under the age of 18, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Access to basic amenities like education, healthcare, and clean water becomes difficult as a result of displacement, which causes a rapid growth in population in host cities and villages.
During June, 36,000 residents left the Ancuabe neighbourhood. The armed war has forced more than 780,000 people out of Cabo Delgado overall.
Beginning in January 2022, the ICRC:
for 21,000 people, distributed needed household products;
2,905 displaced families in Pemba, Montepuez, and Metuge received monetary transfers;
constructed wells, water storage facilities, and pumps;
distributed a system with self-contained solar panels to supply 10,000 displaced persons with water and fight water-borne infections;
Community committees were established to look after and maintain the water supply systems;
Six medical facilities in Pemba (Muxara, Mahate, and Ingonane) and Montepuez were renovated (Niuhula, Napai and Namueto).
Around 166,000 people receive health services from these establishments.
Together with the Mozambique Red Cross, we helped 1 million residents in the conflict-affected provinces of Cabo Delgado, Sofala, and Manica receive the COVID-19 vaccine.