Protection, safety, and essential health care for women and girls

Mozambique | CERF | 2025

Maputo, Mozambique. When Cyclone Chido tore through Cabo Delgado last December, Cecília Wachave lost her house.But that wasn’t her biggest problem. Alone with her daughters, she was afraid for their safety.

"I wished the night wouldn’t come round again because I am a female-headed household - and didn’t know what might happen to us while sleeping under a tree without light.”

Massiala Agostinho, meanwhile, was eight months pregnant when the cyclone hit. Training to be a community health worker, she returned from another village to find her home destroyed. “I couldn’t believe my eyes. My sweet home, where I felt safe, had gone.”

Torrential rains and fierce winds battered Cabo Delgado and Nampula provinces in the north of Mozambique, reducing homes to rubble, displacing thousands, and cutting off communities as roads and communication networks were washed away.

As in so many humanitarian disasters all over the world, women like Cecilia faced increased risk of violence and gender-based violence. And, of course, the daily needs of pregnant mothers like Massiala don’t stop, just because an emergency happens.

With CERF funding, before Cyclone Chido even hit, UNFPA activated its GBV Preparedness and Response Plan in Mozambique.

They pre-positioned 20,000 dignity kits, shared GBV support messages in local languages, and trained women’s groups and community volunteers to assist survivors, ensuring a rapid and effective response.

Mobile and temporary safe spaces were constructed to provide immediate shelter and support for women like Cecília and her daughters, a safe place to go in uncertain times.

UNFPA equipped mobile health clinics – including at Mecufi Health Centre – where Massiala sought care - to work alongside provincial health services and provide emergency medical care for pregnant women.

“This support gives us hope,” says Ms. Agostinho. “It shows us we are not alone.”

Based on original content from UNFPA-Protection and UNFPA-Health

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