Mozambique: The Cost of Inaction - July 2025

OPERATIONAL CONTEXT AND IMPACT OF FUNDING REDUCTION

Mozambique stands at the crossroads of multiple converging crises, where the consequences of delayed or insufficient action are measured not only in financial terms, but in human lives and dignity. Over the past months, the country has faced a relentless cascade of emergencies—worsening conflict in the north, recurrent and intensifying climate shocks (including cyclones and drought) and the resurgence of deadly disease outbreaks—all amid a persistent shortfall in humanitarian funding

The conflict in Cabo Delgado continues to deteriorate. In May 2025, the number of security incidents and violence affecting civilians reached the highest since 2022. Attacks by Non-State Armed Groups (NSAGs) have been happening in larger geographical areas and have shifted closer to main roads, disrupting movement and humanitarian aid. Since January 2025, continued violence and insecurity uprooted over 95,000 people, many of whom still live in precarious conditions with limited access to basic services and protection. Over 700,000 returnees have returned to their places of origins but are still considered in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

The country is reeling from the effects of a prolonged El Niño-induced drought, which resulted in 4.89 million people projected to experience IPC Phase 3+ (crisis or worse), including about 912,000 at Emergency (IPC 4) levels, in October 2024-March 2025. The drought has pushed over 140,000 children into acute malnutrition and forced families into extreme coping strategies, including child marriage and survival sex. Between late 2024 and early 2025, Mozambique was struck by a series of powerful tropical cyclones—Chido, Dekeledi and Jude—which compounded the country’s protracted humanitarian crisis. These storms brought torrential rains, flash floods, and destructive winds, affecting tens of thousands of families already grappling with food insecurity, conflict, and displacement. Infrastructure was severely damaged, while farmland and livelihoods were wiped out in some of the most vulnerable provinces.

Mozambique is grappling with a major cholera outbreak, with nearly 4,500 new cases reported between October 2024 and July 2025. Poor access to safe water, compounded by recent cyclones and weak infrastructure, has fueled the spread. In July 2025, the country also confirmed its first mpox cases.

Women and girls continue to bear the brunt of Mozambique’s humanitarian crisis. Conflict and displacement have sharply increased risks of gender-based violence (GBV), including conflict-related sexual violence, while up to 75% of services for GBV prevention, mental health, and reproductive health are disrupted. Safe spaces and protection mechanisms are vanishing, deepening an already critical gender crisis. The deprioritization of Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) further compounds this crisis. As of April 2025, 26% of humanitarian organizations had scaled back PSEA activities, and over 35% of dedicated staff positions were lost to funding cuts. This has weakened reporting systems, reduced survivor support, and undermined accountability—putting already vulnerable populations at even greater risk. At the same time, humanitarian access is increasingly fragile. Insecurity threatens both communities and aid workers, while local NGOs are overstretched and exposed.

As of July 2025, the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP), which seeks $352 is only 19 per cent funded, having received $66 million. To adapt to the new funding reality, aid agencies reprioritized their response efforts, targeting only 317,000—a 71 per cent reduction from the 1.1 million people originally targeted. The reprioritized plan requires $126 million—down 61 per cent from the original request of $326 million. Urgent and sustained funding is essential to prevent further deterioration and address the escalating humanitarian needs that remain as acute and widespread as ever