The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), has made available more than seven million meticais to strengthen the investigation of cases of violence against children and women in Mozambique.

Official data indicates that at least 51 children have been kidnapped by jihadists in the last 12 months, most of them girls, and UNICEF estimates that 350,000 minors are displaced because of the conflict in Cabo Delgado.

The UNICEF representative in Mozambique, Maria Luísa Fornara, said it is everyone's responsibility to protect minors from armed violence.

He also said that children in Cabo Delgado continue to need long-term support; "they are the most vulnerable group in a conflict scenario, and their use within armed groups can have long-lasting impacts on their health and well-being," he said as quoted by VOA.

"I am confident that through joint efforts and actions, we will be able to fulfill our commitments to the children in Mozambique, particularly those affected by the situation in Cabo Delgado," Fornara said.

Between January and September 2020 a child was a victim of sexual violence every six hours in Mozambique, according to data from the General Command of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique.