The US is collaborating with the Mozambican government, international organizations, civil society organizations, and the private sector to increase humanitarian assistance to over 700,000 people displaced by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique.
The assistance is for those in need of food, water, and shelter, among other emergency relief items, as a result of ISIS-devastating Mozambique’s violence in the province, according to a statement issued by the US Department of State on Thursday.
Hundreds of thousands have fled fighting in Cabo Delgado, where ISIS-affiliated terrorists have brutally killed, maimed, and abducted civilians, destroyed infrastructure, and displaced over 700,000 people.
“The US, through the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance of the United States Agency for International Development, is providing critical humanitarian relief supplies to help meet the urgent needs of people displaced from their homes,” the statement said.
These humanitarian supplies will provide 2,000 rolls of plastic sheeting, 8,000 shelter kits, blankets, and kitchen sets to approximately 20,000 displaced families to assist them in rebuilding.
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According to the statement, the United States is providing US$700,000 in the new Fiscal Year 2021 humanitarian assistance to help the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) provide shelter, blankets and mattresses, as well as mental health and psychosocial support to many of the 28,000 newly displaced people as a result of the Palma attacks in Mozambique.
This aid is in addition to the more than US$82 million in humanitarian assistance provided by the US for the crisis response in Mozambique in Fiscal Year 2020, including in Cabo Delgado.
Approximately 250,000 displaced Mozambicans in Cabo Delgado and neighbouring Nampula and Niassa provinces received food, household items, shelter, and hygiene kits as part of the Fiscal Year 2020 assistance.
It also advocated for the restoration of national identity documents for the displaced, the prevention and response to gender-based violence, and responses to those with special needs, such as the elderly and unaccompanied minors.
The United States also contributed to the logistical operations of the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), which transports relief supplies and humanitarian workers to Mozambicans in need by air, sea, and land.
The United States is Mozambique’s single largest donor of humanitarian aid.
“We are encouraged by the international response, and we urge other donors to assist in assisting vulnerable people in Mozambique,” the US said in the statement.
It also stated that the US is committed to assisting the Mozambican government in combating terrorism and violent extremism through a comprehensive strategy that includes socioeconomic development, community resilience programs, and security assistance.
