Aid Suspension in Mozambique Deliberate Strategy to Force out IDPs: Catholic Peace Entity

“The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is today warning that it will be forced to suspend its life-saving assistance to one million people – at the peak of the hunger season in February – unless additional funding is urgently received,” the UN agency announced, and added, “Cabo Delgado is the most food insecure province in Mozambique and food security continues to deteriorate.”

In a February 3 interview with ACI Africa, DHPI Director, Johan Viljoen, said that stopping food distribution in Cabo Delgado may have “severe” implications among the IDPs who are already struggling.

“The humanitarian situation in Cabo Delgado is already dire. I was there towards the end of last year and the people had not received rainfall for a very long time. Up to now, they have not planted anything. They only rely on aid,” Mr. Viljoen said.

The DHPI Director said that for a long time, WFP had been the main source of aid to the IDPs who have been forced to live in camps by the Al-Shabaab.

“The people are fully dependent on WFP. Yes, we have Caritas Nampula, Caritas Pemba, and other Church and nongovernmental organizations that are trying their best to fill the gaps but these organizations combined do not have enough funds to sustain the IDPs who are about one million,” he said.

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Mr. Viljoen underlined the need “to strengthen advocacy in Europe and America” in support of WFP which, he said, “is the only humanitarian agency capable of handling the crisis in Cabo Delgado.”

DHPI visited Nampula Province in Northern Mozambique from February 14-21 and gathered the experiences of the IDPS who, according to the peace foundation, are embroiled in conflict with their host communities.

The situation of IDPs, DHPI says, should be seen against the background of political and economic developments, especially the interest of TotalEnergies, an international petroleum company in Cabo Delgado that closed shop following heightened militant attacks in the province.

DHPI recalls that the energy firm said that they would only return when the situation had been stabilized, and IDPs had returned. 

“There has been enormous pressure on IDPs to return, mainly from the authorities, eager for TOTAL to resume operations,” DHPI says, and adds, “In the week before the DHPI visit, the CEO of TOTAL (Patrick Pouyanne) visited Pemba and announced the imminent resumption of operations, subject to certain conditions.”

According to the peace foundation of SACBC, the imminent return of TotalEnergies and the company’s conditions for returning are also problematic. 

DHPI has gathered reports indicating that the energy firm is not only demanding a militarized buffer zone around the plant at Afungi but is also insisting on a buffer zone covering the entire coastal plain from Afungi to Pemba, which is more than 250 km. This, allegedly, is to safeguard shipping traffic between Palma and Pemba from attacks.

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.