Mozambique


  • Population - 22,948,858
  • Infant Mortality Rate - 78.95 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Life Expectancy – 51.78 years
  • Population below poverty line – 70%
  • Year ChildFund entered Mozambique – 2005

Quick Facts

  • After nearly five centuries of Portuguese rule, Mozambique won independence in 1975.
  • Portuguese is the main language in Mozambique.
  • It has a tropical climate that can produce heavy flooding along the rivers.
  • Mozambique’s main industries are: Food, beverages, chemicals, aluminium, petroleum products and textiles. Its main agricultural sources are: Cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea and beef. Its main exports are: aluminium, prawns, cashews, cotton and sugar.
  • Mozambique’s main religions are Christianity, Islam, and indigenous beliefs.
  • Mozambique is one of the world’s poorest countries, with a GDP per capita of under $400.
  • Just under half of Mozambique’s population are children under 18 years old.

Priority Issues

  • Mozambique is among the world’s 20 poorest countries, ranking 175 out of 179 countries on the 2010 Human Development Index.
  • About half of the adult population lives in poverty.
  • 58% of children living below the poverty line.
  • HIV and AIDS are one of the greatest threats to Mozambique. Mozambique ranks 8th in the world for people living with HIV or AIDS. There are about 1.6 million people living with HIV and AIDS.
  • About 350,000 children have lost their parents to AIDS-related illnesses.
  • Only about 48% of Mozambique’s population are literate.
  • The country is prone to various natural disasters including epidemics, floods, storms and droughts.

ChildFund Intervention

While ChildFund started working in Mozambique in 2005, ChildFund Ireland and ChildFund Mozambique began working together in 2007  and supported by funding from Irish Aid’s block grant to ChildFund Ireland,  today have an exciting programme which aims to expand sustainable community safety nets for vulnerable families that promote child protection and development while addressing the root causes of poverty in two districts, Zavala and Gondola.  ChildFund’s programme works through building the capacity of two local community organisation organisations, Associacao Kurera Wana (AKW) in Gondola and Association Kulana Kwati Vanana (AKKV) in Zavala in each district and supporting them to meet the needs of their communities.

Zavala District in Inhambane Province is a coastal area with tropical temperatures throughout the year, though the area has had increasing problems with droughts in recent years. The vast majority of the families in this area are subsistence farmers and live in homes made of reeds and straw. The local language is Chope, though Portuguese is also spoken.

The programme, which began in January 2008 and was completed at the end of 2010, built on ChildFund’s successful child focused, family centred community development strategy designed to meet the immediate needs of vulnerable children and families while creating a supportive environment and building community capacity to sustain services over time. In collaboration with local and national government and community leadership, the programme expanded the capacity of local partners to develop and scale up comprehensive care and support services addressing material, social, and emotional needs. Recognising the substantial impact of AIDS in the area, health promotion and disease prevention activities were complemented by efforts to mitigate the long term effects of the epidemic on families. Key activities included: strengthening community child protection systems; improving psychosocial support for children and adults affected by AIDS; health promotion and disease prevention; nutritional support through sustainable food security; enhancing access to education; and economic strengthening for vulnerable families and youth. Despite the end of the grant funded programme, many of these activities are continuing due to the increased capacity of the partner organisation, AKKV, and the funding available through the generosity of our sponsors.

In June 2009, the programme was extended to Gondola district in Manica province, with similar activities being carried out The district is centred on the Beira Corridor, a transport and communications network which links the port city of Beira to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and other countries in the hinterland.  The district has an estimated 16% HIV prevalence.  About 14% of children are orphans and an estimated 2,700 children in the district live in child-headed households. These rates are amongst the highest in Mozambique and serve as a powerful indicator of the impact of HIV. Despite the heavy concentration of the population along the Beira Corridor, even these centrally located communities are underserved with health and education services.

 

Comments are closed.