Mozambique continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis caused by conflict, climate shocks and governance challenges. In Cabo Delgado, protracted conflict has displaced some 550,000 people and more than 870,000 people are acutely food insecure (IPC 3+). Nearly half of children under five are stunted and around 28,000 require treatment for acute malnutrition.

In 2024, La Niña and Cyclone Chido exacerbated vulnerability, further reducing access to food and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services. 74 per cent of IDPs live in host communities whose already limited resources have been strained. Only about 60 per cent of the population has access to safe drinking water, exacerbating the crisis as agricultural production declines.

Given the scale of the security and humanitarian crisis, Action Against Hunger continued its emergency response to host and displaced populations in Cabo Delgado. The Rapid Response Mechanism for Population Movements allows the most urgent and basic needs to be identified and responded to quickly, including food, hygiene, shelter and non-food items. Action Against Hunger continued to promote a multi-sectoral and integrated response by implementing livelihood diversification and agricultural revitalisation activities, rehabilitation of drinking water and sanitation infrastructure, mobile primary healthcare brigades and lifesaving nutritional support.

In 2024, we made significant progress in Mueda and Metuge districts to strengthen the capacity of conflict-affected communities and create climate-resilient communities and infrastructure, while also piloting nutrition-sensitive agriculture programmes. Following the devastating landfall of Cyclone Chido on 15 December 2024, Action Against Hunger supported over 40,000 people in some of the most affected districts of Cabo Delgado with emergency relief of basic survival items, access to primary healthcare, access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and agricultural support.