Maputo, 28 March - The Government of Japan today announced its commitment of additional around USD 1.7 million in funding to support Mozambique on its path to sustainable development and reinforce the humanitarian response to the complex crisis in the north of the country. Under the leadership of the Government of Mozambique, and with coordination from key national institutions, Japan’s support will be implemented through three UN Entities.

The announcement was made during an official ceremony held today in Maputo, attended by representatives of the Government of Mozambique, including the Government Representative, Ambassador Faruque Omar Faquirá, Deputy Director of the Directorate for Asia and Oceania, Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique; the Ambassador of Japan in Mozambique, His Excellency Mr. Keiji Hamada; the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

His Excellency the Ambassador of Japan, Mr. Keiji HAMADA, said: “In Cabo Delgado, due to the repeated attacks since October 2017, more than 700,000 people have become IDPs and another more than 600,000 people have become returnees. In this context, given the possibility that economic disparities have contributed to the outbreak of attacks, both humanitarian and development assistance must be provided in the continued form.” At TICAD 8 in 2022, Japan reaffirmed its commitment to support Africa's efforts to strengthen peace by preventing conflict and addressing the root causes of conflict, and reaffirmed the importance of the 'humanitarian-development-peace nexus’. Ambassador Hamada added, “It is our sincere hope that the three new projects will contribute to the stabilization of Cabo Delgado and help Mozambicans in need.”

Additionally, the FAO Representative in Mozambique, Mr. José Luis Fernandez, stated that the northern provinces in Mozambique, and Cabo Delgado particularly, are faced with complex challenges of both conflict and the impact of climate events, and in such context our mission is more critical than ever. He emphasized that the generous support from the Government of Japan for this project enables to directly address the urgent needs of returnees in Cabo Delgado, aiming to rebuild and enhance their agriculture-based livelihoods by focusing on crop and fisheries production. The objective is to improve food and nutrition security for these communities in a sustainable manner, especially among women and youth. “Expected to benefit 16,750 vulnerable returnees across the Quissanga, Mocimboa da Praia, and Palma districts, the project is poised to restore their agriculture-based livelihoods and improve food and nutrition security, ultimately reducing dependency from aid.”, he concluded.

“On behalf of UNHCR, and the persons we serve, I wish to thank the people of Japan for their support. The generous funding provided by the Government of Japan has helped the UN in Mozambique for many years to support thousands of displaced people affected by the crisis in Cabo Delgado.” UNHCR is proud to be a steadfast partner of the Government of Japan in Mozambique, the new funding for 2024 will allow UNHCR to provide crucial assistance to displaced populations in Cabo Delgado by improving the sites in which they are received, providing IDPs with civil documentation and legal aid and providing IDPs that are in acute humanitarian needs with Core Relief Items.”, said the UNHCR Mozambique Representative, Ahmed Baba Fall.

The IOM Mozambique Chief of Mission, Dr. Laura Tomm-Bonde, commented that “Adopting a Durable Solutions Approach is crucial in responding to the escalating number of returnees, which exceeded 600,000 by December 2023, alongside continuous displacements. IOM is committed to advocating for durable solutions for returnees, IDPs and affected communities. The Japan-funded project aims at targeting returnees, IDPs and people in affected communities, including women, men and youth, to support people to increase their resilience to advance durable solutions, sustainable peace and resilience for returnees, internally displaced persons, and host communities in areas affected by conflict. We are dedicated to further strengthening the collaboration and coordination with the Government of Mozambique and Japan as well as other UN agencies and other stakeholders to effectively address the root causes and prevent violence and conflicts”, said Dr. Laura.