Minister Brophy announces further assistance of €1m to humanitarian crisis in northern Mozambique

Responding to the UN’s urgent call for assistance for 500,000 people displaced in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, Colm Brophy, T.D., Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and the Diaspora, today announced an additional €1 million in Irish Aid assistance. This brings Ireland’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Cabo Delgado to €4 million in 2020.

Minister Brophy said:

“Nearly half a million people have lost their homes due to violence in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province in recent months. This comes on top of the devastation caused by last year’s cyclone Kenneth, the strongest ever to hit Mozambique. This terrible combination of violence and cyclone has meant that as many as a million people are facing food insecurity in northern Mozambique this Christmas.

"The €1 million in Irish Aid support to the World Food Programme’s activities in Cabo Delgado I am announcing today will help alleviate this insecurity, and is part of Ireland’s ongoing support for peace and development in Mozambique.”

Minister Brophy added:

“It is particularly fitting, on the day of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, that Irish Aid partners with this year’s laureate, the World Food Programme, in addressing conflict-related food insecurity in Mozambique.”

ENDS

PRESS OFFICE

10 DECEMBER 2020

Notes for Editors

A violent insurgency has been underway in Cabo Delgado since 2017. The security and humanitarian situations have both deteriorated significantly in 2020. Almost 500,000 people are now estimated to be internally displaced, up from just 90,000 in early 2020. More than 900,000 people are facing emergency levels of food insecurity.
Ireland is already providing €3 million in humanitarian assistance in Cabo Delgado in 2020. The additional funding, which will be provided to the World Food Programme, will increase this figure to €4 million. Mozambique is among the top recipients of Ireland’s bilateral official development assistance (ODA) annually.
The UN will shortly launch its Humanitarian Response Plan for northern Mozambique, with anticipated funding requirements of USD136 million. Ireland’s funding will contribute to the implementation of the Plan.
The World Food Programme has been awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for “efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas, and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict”. The Award Presentation will take place from Oslo on Thursday, 10 December.
Ireland’s policy for international development, A Better World, outlines Ireland’s vision of a more equal, peaceful and sustainable world. It charts a clear way forward to achieve this vision, shaping and protecting our stability, our prosperity, our shared interests and our common future. It commits Ireland to reducing humanitarian need by anticipating and responding to crises so as to protect the most vulnerable and those at risk.
Ireland’s Strategy for Africa, Global Ireland - Ireland's Strategy for Africa to 2025, provides a framework for strengthened political partnerships with African countries and institutions.