The Mozambican government and humanitarian agencies working in Cabo Delgado continue to search for alternatives to deal with the humanitarian crisis, caused by a prolonged armed conflict and aggravated by severe weather events, following Donald Trump's announcement of funding cuts at the UN, which guaranteed the greatest assistance to that province.

More than 670,000 people are still displaced by the armed conflict in northern Mozambique and depend on humanitarian assistance to survive, at a time when external humanitarian aid has dwindled in Cabo Delgado, with several organizations closing their doors and suspending development projects in the province.

The limitation of external resources for humanitarian aid has led the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGD) and its partners to create a durable solutions group, which must seek internal funds to respond to the humanitarian drama in Cabo Delgado.

"We have to start finding local ways to solve our problems," said Marques Naba, the INGD delegate in Cabo Delgado, reacting to the presidential decrees by the US head of state, Donald Trump, who suspended hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid donations for 90 days when he took office on January 20.

Cited by VOANaba added that "if external support comes our way, we'll be grateful, but while we're waiting, while we think that something will come from others, we locally have to find a way out, this is the vision of this local solutions group, to find a way out of local problems".

Several United Nations agencies have warned of the global impact of cuts in foreign aid funds announced by the US government, which was leading the humanitarian aid sector in the world, including in Mozambique.

In the same publication, the deputy head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Mozambique, Bony Mpaka, notes that the fragility caused by years of conflict has placed many families in the region in socio-economic vulnerability.

"We are reconsidering the funds, but I can assure you that OCHA and the humanitarian partners, with the limited resources available, will continue to support the Mozambican people, the government and local leaders, to ensure that the most vulnerable are assisted. Even with limited funds, we can continue to save the lives of the most vulnerable," said Bony Mpaka.

The United States financed the global humanitarian appeal to the tune of 47% last year.

Meanwhile, social activist Manuel Nota notes that the cut in foreign aid could cause chaos for displaced families who depend on donations to survive, but considers the measure a necessary evil for the country to "learn to walk on its own two feet".

The Cabo Delgado region has been experiencing a severe conflict for around seven years - with attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State - which has led to more than 1.3 million internally displaced people, most of them women and children.

In addition to the conflict in the north, Mozambique is considered one of the countries most affected by climate change in the world.

Droughts, which have become more frequent, are an aggravated concern for the country, since 80% of the population of more than 33 million people depend on rain-fed agriculture.

(Photo DR)