Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa covering President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. government, UN, IMF, World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington and New York.
The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing $116 million in additional assistance to respond to needs, including severe food insecurity, in Mozambique, United States Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Uzra Zeya announced on Wednesday.
The new funding is in addition to the more than $592 million in humanitarian assistance announced last week in Kampala to support refugees and conflict-affected people across the African continent and the nearly $1.2 billion to provide critical aid for millions of people across the Horn of Africa announced July 18th.
“This includes $106 million in humanitarian assistance from USAID to support partners to address humanitarian needs stemming from the devastating effects of ongoing conflict in northern Mozambique and Tropical Cyclone Gombe,” USAID said in a statement.
It added, “The conflict has resulted in the displacement of approximately 800,000 Mozambicans, and Tropical Cyclone Gombe compounded the hardship people in the north of the country were already facing. USAID’s partners will provide food and nutrition assistance and meet health care, water, sanitation, hygiene, agriculture, and other critical relief needs.
“This additional funding brings U.S. humanitarian assistance for Mozambique to $167 million in Fiscal Year 2022, including $158 million from USAID. A portion of this new funding for Mozambique is part of the $2 billion in humanitarian assistance announced by President Joe Biden on June 27 as a part of the supplemental package intended to assist countries in Africa and worldwide whose people are suffering due to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. It will immediately address the most dire impacts of the global food security crisis through direct food assistance and related health, nutrition, protection, as well as water, sanitation and hygiene services in countries with high levels of acute food insecurity, reliance on Russian and Ukrainian imports, and vulnerability to price shocks.
“Today’s funding also includes $10 million, subject to congressional approval, in development assistance for Mozambique. This funding is part of the $760 million in supplemental funds announced by President Biden to combat the effects of high food, fuel, and fertilizer prices – now being driven by Putin’s war – in those countries that need it most. With this additional funding, USAID will help smallholder farmers put climate-smart farming practices into use through better access to improved seeds and by cultivating a wider range of nutrition crops. USAID will also launch a challenge fund to encourage local agribusinesses to test and expand new business models, develop products, and adopt innovative technologies that help them overcome supply chain challenges and reach local consumers efficiently.
“Mozambique is one of the eight new Feed the Future target countries announced by President Biden in June where Feed the Future will intensify its efforts to directly address and mitigate the impacts of the global food security crisis, which have been exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”