The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
Supporting crisis recovery in northern Mozambique
UNOPS will support the government of Mozambique’s efforts to promote peace and socio-economic development, with funding from the World Bank.
Ongoing violent conflict in Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado Province has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and led to a dire humanitarian crisis. Almost a million people across the volatile region face severe hunger and recurrent disease outbreaks, including COVID-19.
To improve access to much-needed basic services and foster longer-term peace and economic development, the government of Mozambique recently launched a crisis recovery project in the region through its National Sustainable Development Fund (FNDS).
Funded through a $98 million grant from the World Bank’s International Development Association, UNOPS will provide implementation and advisory support for the project – including helping to build or rehabilitate health, education and other key public infrastructure – working in close collaboration with the FNDS, the Agency for Integrated Development of the North (ADIN), UN partners, local authorities, non-governmental organizations and other local stakeholders.
UNOPS is strongly committed to supporting the government of Mozambique to improve the lives and livelihoods of people deeply affected by the violent conflict in the country’s northernmost region.
Through the project, internally displaced persons as well as host communities in the region will benefit from a range of initiatives that will help foster greater social cohesion – including through support to community-based organizations and peacebuilding committees – and support vulnerable individuals and households through the provision of social services. The project will also provide vital income support and economic opportunities – including cash-for-work programmes for women and youth, support for fishing and agricultural activities, and entrepreneurship and business management training.
“This project will help strengthen the government’s capacity to address the short-, medium- and long-term dimensions of the crisis by boosting social cohesion and strengthening the resilience of the population to the impacts of the conflict,” said ADIN’s President, Armindo Ngunga.
Rainer Frauenfeld, Director of UNOPS Multi-Country Office in Kenya, added that the project is a significant step towards improving the lives of those living in the remote north of Mozambique.
“It will help translate the government’s commitments to supporting vulnerable communities affected by local conflict into specific results,” said Mr. Frauenfeld.
