Overall there are 930,000 people in northern Mozambique, affected by an armed insurgency, who will need humanitarian food support at least until the harvests, this coming May, warns a report quoted by Lusa news agency.

"Needs for humanitarian food assistance are likely to remain high at least until harvest in May 2022," states the latest document from the Famine Early Warning Network (Fews network), which supports the actions of government and humanitarian agencies.

The World Food Programme (WFP) predicts that "more than 900,000 IDPs and host families in Cabo Delgado, Niassa and Nampula are likely to need humanitarian food assistance" by that time, it says.

However, because resources are limited, "WFP plans to continue providing biannual rations equivalent to 39% of the daily kilocalories," i.e., giving less at a time to make the aid last longer. 

Underfunding of humanitarian organizations has been repeatedly reported from Cabo Delgado.

At the same time, there are reports of displaced people returning to their home areas to try to resume their activities, after military interventions have overwhelmed the insurgency since July.

Still, according to the report, most families are expected to remain in conflict-free areas at least through the upcoming rainy and cyclonic season - which runs until April.

The situation in Cabo Delgado is the most worrying in the food security forecast for the country in the coming months, with the rest of the regions facing minimal risks, which may, however, be threatened in some riverine areas by the usual flood risks until April.

Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas but has been terrorized since 2017 by armed insurgents, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

The conflict has already caused more than 3,100 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and more than 817,000 displaced people, according to the Mozambican authorities.

Source Lusa