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Mozambique’s Current Poverty Problem: The Latest Update

Mozambique’s Current Poverty ProblemMozambique, located between Tanzania and South Africa, has a sprawling 2,500-kilometer coastline along the Indian Ocean. Home to around 33 million people, it possesses plentiful resources like fertile land, water, energy and offshore gas. While poverty has improved over the past two decades, disease outbreaks, natural disasters and military revolts brought a setback to these gains. Here are five important facts about Mozambique’s current poverty problem that you should know:

5 Important Facts about Mozambique’s Current Poverty Problem

  1. Mozambique has an extremely low-level human capital index of 0.36. The distribution of primary education and health care in Mozambique is unequal, leading to inequality between rural and urban regions. This lack of equitable access fosters vulnerability among marginalized populations, ultimately contributing to instability and violence. According to UNICEF, only a striking 41% of children complete primary school (elementary school).
  2. More than 60% of people live in poverty. From 1996 to 2015, poverty levels were at 46.1%. Currently, the overall percentage of citizens in poverty has risen to more than 60%, and around 46% of children experience multidimensional poverty.
  3. Poverty hits girls and women especially hard. From 2019-2020, the “new poor” were young, uneducated females. The lack of empowerment among females impedes progress by resulting in unfavorable fertility levels, higher child and maternal death rates, limited skill development and poor productivity within the job market. Almost half of women, 40%, have undergone early childbearing before 18. Children in Mozambique, particularly girls, are more at risk of experiencing rights violations and violence. Additionally, women encounter obstacles when accessing income opportunities, making decisions and obtaining essential services.
  4. Mozambique is still battling with military revolts. In sections of Cabo-Delgado, a four-year military conflict with RENAMO, the political face of the Mozambican National Resistance, has resulted in 4,000 deaths and displaced almost 1 million people, with 80% being women and children. About 4 million people are frighteningly projected to encounter high levels of food insecurity, with 1.1 million people already in need of nutrition assistance and almost 1 million lacking access to safe water, all contributing to Mozambique’s current poverty problem.
  5. Mozambique has experienced several disease outbreaks. In 2022, Cholera spread rapidly. Additionally, there were reports of poliovirus detected in five areas. To combat this, Mozambique’s leadership launched a vaccination campaign focusing on children. The need for attention to immunization services is evident as around 1.1 million children currently require urgent care.

Potential Solutions in the Economy

The future of Mozambique’s economy is looking positive. Mozambique’s economy is on the rise and making strides with an offshore project in the liquefied natural gas industry already operational. Mozambique also expects to kick off larger-scale projects in 2026 and 2028. Furthermore, the World Bank predicts economic growth will accelerate 6% from 2023 to 2025.

The World Bank is playing a pivotal role by supporting the SWIOFish Project. By boosting fish stocks and cracking down on illegal practices, this project is restoring livelihoods and providing financial assistance to fishing associations in Mozambique. Women are particularly benefiting through increased access to savings, loans and opportunities for business expansion.

The progress of Mozambique’s economy is positively impacting poverty reduction efforts benefiting over 200,000 individuals — more than 40% of whom are women. Upgrades have been made to around 200 kilometers of roads, while 139 kilometers of water distribution networks have been improved. These enhancements enable farmers to access markets and provide improved water sources for over 32,000 people. All of these positive results are the consequence of The Integrated Growth Pole Project, supported by the World Bank. To further stimulate growth in Mozambique, a new project called “The Access to Finance & Economic Opportunities Project” has received approval.

Looking Ahead

Despite Mozambique’s current poverty problem, inequitable access to essential services, high poverty rates, gender inequality and an ongoing military conflict, hope is on the horizon. The beginning of the offshore LNG project and expected economic growth in the near future reflects excellent potential for the country. Furthermore, the World Bank’s backing of initiatives such as SWIOFish and The Integrated Growth Pole Project has already significantly reduced poverty. With concentrated efforts to work on these issues and help from other countries, Mozambique can prevail over its setbacks and shape a brighter future for its people.

– Elizabeth Antenucci
Photo: Unsplash

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Renewable Energy in Mozambique Helps Fight Poverty

Renewable Energy in Mozambique
The Southern African country of Mozambique holds great potential for renewable energy. “At 187 gigawatts, Mozambique has the largest power generation potential in Southern Africa from untapped coal, hydro, gas, wind and solar resources,” USAID notes. Mozambique is already equipped with an impressive existing hydro infrastructure, the Cahora Bassa hydro dam being the most notable. Despite this great potential, however, only 34% of Mozambique’s population has access to reliable electricity. Furthermore, in 2022, 60% of the nation’s people live in conditions of poverty.

Renewable Energy in Mozambique Brings Benefits

Recent research undertaken by The Rockefeller Foundation found that investing in renewable energy could create 25 million direct jobs in the energy sector across Asia and Africa by 2030. Furthermore, the improvements that reliable energy access would provide through renewable energy could create close to 500 million new jobs in sectors such as health care, education, agriculture and entrepreneurship. A quarter of these jobs would form in sub-Saharan Africa.

Indeed, with Mozambique’s established wealth of natural green energy sources, the nation would likely be one of the major beneficiaries of these new jobs, which would help to alleviate poverty. The transition to renewable energy holds the benefit of job creation, a positive benefit for a country with an unemployment rate of 3.9% in 2021. With a GDP per capita of approximately $491, in 2021, Mozamibique’s economy could benefit from an increasingly productive workforce.

Instances of investing in renewable energy in Mozambique have already created jobs, with the construction of the Mocuba solar plant employing more than 1,050 Mozambicans at peak construction and now producing 79 GWh per year. For context, that is the “equivalent of the electricity consumption of more than 170,000 households in Mozambique,” according to the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries. The Mocuba solar plant opened as recently as August 2019. Solar power already helps to power 700 schools and 800 other public buildings in Mozambique.

Mozambique is already a net exporter of energy in the Southern African region. This is mostly due to its developed hydro infrastructure. With large solar projects underway, the value of these established trade relationships could significantly increase. Via an effective distribution and transmission network, Mozambique would also be able to export energy to new customers. This would bring significant GDP growth which, if distributed effectively, could benefit the population at large.

Mozambique’s Power Company Sets Targets

Electricidade de Mocambique (EDM), Mozambique’s state-owned energy company, has put in place a policy to increase installed energy capacity to more than 6,000 MW by 2030 and aims for 20% integration of renewable energy in the country’s power grid. EDM believes that this policy will attract more private investment to Mozambique’s energy sector and ensure the development of a sustainable workforce. Indeed, as the world aligns with net-zero targets and the topic of going green remains prominent, these jobs are likely to remain relevant in the future.

Accelerating Renewable Energy in Mozambique

In January 2023, power development company Ncondezi Energy signed a land agreement with the Government of Mozambique for a 300 MW hybrid solar project, which will help contribute to the government’s goal of achieving universal access to electricity by 2030. Additionally, in 2021, the European Development Fund committed €15 million to the development of renewable energy in Mozambique by investing in entrepreneurs and companies. This will help to reduce the concentration of energy poverty in rural areas.

Looking Ahead

Investment in renewable energy has seen great success in several countries, such as China. It has created jobs, increased reliable access to energy and raised GDP, ultimately reducing poverty. Through similar initiatives, this process can be emulated in Mozambique. By investing in renewable energy to help a country with an abundance of natural green energy sources, more people in Mozambique may see a future free from poverty.

– Saul Gunn
Photo: Flickr

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Eliminating Poverty: Update on SDG 1 in Mozambique

Eliminating Poverty in MozambiqueLocated on the southeastern coast of Africa, Mozambique is home to approximately 29.5 million Mozambicans. With a 52% female and 48% male population growing at a rate of 2.5%, high child mortality rates, increased 12.6% HIV prevalence, low life expectancy and low literacy rates, Mozambique is struggling with most of the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Mozambique ranks 136 of the 162 countries measured by the Sustainable Development Index. The first SDG is eliminating poverty in Mozambique.

Poverty in Mozambique

According to Mozambique’s Household Budget Survey, 46.1% of the population lives below the poverty line. There exists multidimensional poverty measured by the quality of family, nutrition, education, work, health, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), resulting in 46% of children 17 years and below living in poverty.

The country’s location makes it vulnerable to many natural disasters that often stunt its economic growth, making it difficult to eliminate poverty in Mozambique. Mozambique faces a combination of tropical and dry climates, an abundance of natural resources ranging from renewable energy sources to agro-ecological regions, forests and wildlife. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate fell from 7.4% to 3.7% between 2007 and 2017 as a result of drought, flood and cyclone natural disasters.

Barriers to Eliminating Poverty in Mozambique

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has brought an additional burden to Mozambique, coming just as the country was recovering from major economic shocks related to its recent debt crisis and the devastating 2019 cyclones. Since the onset of the pandemic, Mozambique has already experienced a 4% decline in its economic growth expectations with significant adverse effects on its already struggling economy. Mozambique is expected to feel the lasting effects of this shift in the coming years, facing even larger external and fiscal financing gaps than previously anticipated. Further, there is concern that large numbers of Mozambicans are on the verge of re-entering poverty, erasing much past progress and setting the country back on the SDG to eliminate poverty.

One of the main barriers to eliminating poverty in Mozambique is its long-standing exclusion regarding gender and other vulnerable groups and regional public policy imbalances. In order to have sustainable poverty reduction, Mozambique must give special attention to eliminating these key issues.

Current Efforts and Solutions

The Nation Basic Social Security Strategy (ENSSB) was developed to help achieve the government’s five-year plan (2015-2019) to implement actions aimed at reducing poverty and vulnerability. Between 2016 and 2024, it seeks to ensure impending economic growth is of benefit to all its citizens, particularly the most vulnerable. A strategy based on the Agenda 2063 of the African Union and the U.N.’s SDGs, the ENSSB was designed to build an efficient and effective social security system in Mozambique. It directly aims to sustainably support and strengthen Mozambique’s most impoverished population’s capacity to defend themselves against social risks such as violence, abuse, exploitation, discrimination, and social exclusions due to their elevated vulnerability.

The World Bank Group (WBG) currently supports a wide and diverse lending portfolio for the benefit of eliminating poverty in Mozambique. Focusing on Mozambique’s most vulnerable and underserved populations, the WBG has lent its resources to 27 operations with contributions of $3 billion funded by the International Development Association (IDA). The International Finance Corporation additionally has existing investments of up to $176 million, with $15 million in advisory services alone as of June 2020. The WBG’s portfolio consists of two Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency exposures of up to $89.1 million as well.

Such large and varied contributions and investments have the following primary goals: diversification for economic growth and development, human capital development, and increased sustainable development, prosperity and resilience.

COVID-19 Relief Support in Mozambique

As a result of the onset of the pandemic, Mozambique is struggling with a growing fiscal gap and economic fallout. In order to prevent deepening long-term economic effects, the WBG approved a $100 million grant from the IDA on October 22, 2020. This funding aims to mitigate the pandemic’s adverse impact by providing emergency government financing, supporting affected businesses and households and improving fiscal sustainability reform.

This effort of the WBG will serve as part of its existing plans to aid Mozambique in post-crisis recovery in the form of improving health services, access to water and sanitation, extending social protection and labor, improving business, job creation and retention and economic management. These goals will help push Mozambique forward, improve Mozambicans’ quality of life and lift people out of poverty. These investments will be implemented through a two-pronged approach. First, the health sector will be addressed, along with social security, safety and water access for all Mozambicans, with a particular focus on the urban poor and vulnerable populations. Secondly, supporting small and medium enterprises’ (SME) access to financing and liquidity will help catalyze economic growth in the financial sector and industry reform and strengthen Mozambique’s fiscal and debt framework.

Though Mozambique has faced many setbacks in its economic development in recent years, the above strategies will hopefully set the country on its way to achieving the very first Sustainable Development Goal of eliminating poverty in Mozambique.

– Rebecca Harris
Photo: Flickr

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Natural Gas Industry Creates Job Opportunity for Mozambique

Natural Gas Industry Creates Job Opportunity for MozambiqueBy now, most of the world has put some form of social containment measures into place for COVID-19. Unfortunately, it has had a negative reversal effect on the progress of economic globalization. Mozambique is a place with an abundance of natural resources. However, it is still one of the poorest countries in the world. An opportunity has now presented itself after the DFC (U.S. International Development Finance Corporation) recently approved two substantially large natural gas projects in Mozambique.

Poverty and Social Inequalities

Within the last 20 years, Mozambique has had a growing period in predictive expansion in agriculture and natural resources. The growth has been at a slow pace. Although the poverty numbers are not what they once were, there is a noticeable space between social and financial equality. A recent report from ClubOfMozambique.com suggests that the abrupt lockdowns from COVID-19 have shined a light on the wide gap between the well-off and the impoverished. Hunger has been another major issue for struggling families due to spikes in inflation and boundary restrictions. There is public blame that is directed toward the government and the failure of equal distribution of wealth.

The Natural Gas Project

In July 2020, a major French oil company, Total, put together a near $15 billion contract agreement to begin the production and distribution of the country’s abundant natural gas resources. The scale of this project is set to be one of the biggest industrial initiatives in the history of Africa. The World Bank and The International Monetary Fund (IMF) have given their assistance both financially and publically. This is needed amid pushback from the use of fossil fuels. An environmental organization called Friends of the Earth International has concluded that ever since the country first discovered natural gas reserves 10 years ago, it has contributed to the public imbalance of wealth and prosperity. From the opposite point of view, the African department of the IMF suggested that the fuel project could be a very unique window of opportunity to bring a fresh start to the economy of Mozambique.

Possible Job Opportunity

The country’s economic statistics would suggest that this project would be a significant milestone for those that are deep in poverty. Proper instruction and leadership from international fuel companies can eventually lead to job opportunities for locals. Currently, job opportunities are few and far between with a high majority having to rely on agriculture for survival. In addition, this is a main key factor that went into the government’s extensive plan. This would work toward converting natural gas into nutrients for crops, bringing higher yields for working farmers. Perhaps most importantly is the fact that this project has the potential to rectify one of the main problems in the country: dependable energy. Bringing in the fuel industry would allow the chance for energy in expanded locations. As a result, it would inevitably bring back Mozambique’s travel and vacation business.

When a country such as Mozambique is going through such disheartening conditions, it is hard to argue against taking the risk to majorly improve their economic situation. When Mozambique takes part in the natural gas business sector, it would lead to more international attention and inclusion.

– Brandon Baham

Photo: Flickr

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How the DFC is Investing in a Sustainable Future for Mozambique

How the DFC is Investing in a Sustainable Future for MozambiqueThe USA’s Development Finance Corporation (DFC) just spent $3.6 billion in investments worldwide, with roughly half this amount going toward a sustainable future for Mozambique.

The project consists of an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) project created by the U.S. Anadarko Petroleum and owned by the French oil company Total SE, which will help grow the country’s economy by making it one of the biggest LNG exporters in the world. Its strategic location makes business with markets like Asia, Europe and South Africa very viable. The goal is to bolster Mozambique’s annual GDP to as high as $15 billion a year, stabilizing the country’s economy and encouraging everlasting growth.

Poverty in Mozambique

Mozambique is currently one of the poorest countries in the world, largely in part by corrupt government officials. It ranked 146 out of 180 in a 2019 transparency perception index, and in a study conducted by a Norwegian research institute, the country suffered a $4.9 billion annual increase in corruption from just 2004 to 2014 alone.

In recent times, it has been observed that poverty is decreasing in urban zones. The national poverty index as of today is around 41-46% of the population. This is good news compared to the country’s 80% poverty rate in 1990—making it at the time one of the countries most entrenched in poverty. However, the country still suffers from inequality between urban and rural zones. Poverty reduction in the south is 18%; contrastively, the north saw an 11% increase in poverty rates. However, there is hope that the United States’s renewable natural gas investments can offset this stark disparity, pushing for a prosperous and sustainable future for Mozambique.

Obstacles to a Sustainable Future in Mozambique

With new sustainable projects in action, comes the rise of Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamo (ASWJ), an Islamic insurgent militant group known for their terroristic attacks in small villages. Since the start of the LNG project, the group has been advancing by facilitating attacks in large city centers, even killing eight LNG project employees at a construction site near the Tanzania border.

Currently, the ASWJ does not have the arms capability of reaching the significant sites that are heavily guarded, but they still have the potential to pose a looming threat to other smaller project sites that do not have as much security. As the group advances, Total SE must take proactive measures to counteract attacks, given the unprecedented violence that has taken place as ASWJ asserts its presence amid the new oil plant.

The DFC is also giving Mozambique a $200 million loan to build power infrastructure. This will help the country become self-sufficient by using domestic gas to increase power generation, as well as providing affordable and sustainable electricity, furthering the country’s goal for a central electricity system. The country currently has one of the lowest electrification rates in the world, so this will be a massive step forward in bringing essential, environmentally-sound infrastructure, paving the way for a sustainable future for Mozambique.

The United States sees a potential future for Mozambique, and it is showing its optimism by allocating a hefty amount of its global investments into this single country alone. With this funding, the country can build up essential infrastructure like central electricity, as well as exponentially increase its national GDP with the help of the renewable LNG plant, all of which will reshape the lives of many citizens who have only known poverty for so long.

– Mina Kim
Photo: Flickr

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Extreme Weather and Poverty in Mozambique

Poverty in Mozambique
On March 14, 2019, a massive storm made landfall on Mozambique’s coast bringing heavy rains, flooding and chaos. The storm hit Beira, the fourth largest city in the country, hardest. With winds blowing over 105 miles per hour and torrential rains following it, Cyclone Idai became one of the most destructive storms in the past few years. Shortly after, Cyclone Kenneth struck the northern part of Mozambique with 140 mph winds and even heavier rainfall, creating more damage to the infrastructure in the region. Severe weather has affected all aspects of life in the country, and in particular, those living in poverty in Mozambique.

Mozambique is one of the poorest nations in the world with a GDP per capita of roughly $502. Although the poverty rate decreased from 59% to 48%, inequality still exists in the region between urban and rural areas. According to the World Bank, roughly 80% of poor people in Mozambique live in rural areas. Extreme weather conditions like cyclones or flooding exacerbate these inequalities. Because of this, the aftermath of these harsh storms more heavily affects people living in poverty.

4 Ways Extreme Weather Affects Poverty in Mozambique

1. Extreme Weather Destroys Local Infrastructure: Cyclone Idai caused more than $1 billion in damage to infrastructures like roads, bridges and dams in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. The storm destroyed roughly 100,000 homes and 1 million acres of crops as well and it heavily damaged 90% of the infrastructure in the port city of Beira upon impact. Hospitals, schools and businesses could not withstand the storm’s high wind speeds, even though people built them to hold up against 75 mile-per-hour winds.

Many cities in Mozambique did not have the resources to combat these storms, making the likelihood of the preparedness of rural areas for these disasters significantly lower. For the most part, solving the issue of poverty in Mozambique came second to disaster relief. The Post Disaster Needs Assessment stated that the country would need $3.2 billion for reconstruction and recovery efforts. Thankfully, however, developing partners have already pledged up to $1.2 billion to help begin the process of recovering the lost infrastructure.

2. Extreme Weather Displaces Citizens from Their Homes: The storm affected roughly 3 million people, and about 1.5 million were children. Just outside of the city of Pemba, the destruction of mud houses forced roughly 15,000 people to move to overcrowded shelters or stay outside. This displacement made relief efforts even more difficult and urgent. As the storm stranded many people outside of their homes, they required more time to administer survival equipment and begin rebuilding processes. Many rural citizens in Mozambique will not only have to rebuild their homes, but also have to handle the economic burden of the loss of their arable land.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has been working tirelessly and assisting more than half of these people in isolated and urban areas. The number of people living in shelters in the Sofala Province decreased from 16,600 people to 12,812 people in seven days. Although it is a slow process, these relief efforts are making a significant impact.

3. It Increases the Spread of Diseases: One of the major effects of the two most recent cyclones has been the increase of cholera cases spreading across the country. Due to contamination of clean drinking water by flooding, there are reports of more than 3,000 cases in Mozambique alone. Many shelters became very crowded after these natural disasters, which only increased the probability of cholera and other diseases like malaria spreading.

Luckily, there was a massive campaign by UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam and other relief agencies to vaccinate people against this outbreak. These organizations distributed around 900,000 doses of the vaccine to high-risk areas around Beira. However, this outbreak heightened the effects of extreme weather and had a dangerous effect on the lives of many people.

4. It Halts Agricultural Production: A large part of Mozambique’s economy revolves around agriculture. This industry contributes to more than a quarter of its GDP and employs roughly 80% of its labor force. This leaves the country’s economy very susceptible to extreme weather damages. When disasters hit, they impact the poorer populations living in rural areas the most.

Cyclone Idai destroyed 50% of the country’s annual crops, which are the main source of income for a lot of people. If extreme weather patterns of this force continue, a food scarcity crisis might begin in the country, and the economy might suffer those effects as well. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has been adamant about focusing relief efforts in Mozambique as a top priority. FAO has called for $19 million to support heavily affected regions for three months to resume food production and assist fishing communities. By fulfilling this request, these areas can begin the process of rebuilding these vital industries.

For years, poverty in Mozambique has been a persistent problem for many people living in rural areas. Recently, extreme weather events have become increasingly more powerful and destructive. Various organizations are providing relief efforts that make a huge difference in the region such as the U.N.’s International Disaster Relief System and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). However, rebuilding efforts from this cyclone is far from over. Disaster preparedness is now becoming a focus for the government regarding infrastructure improvements. In order to end poverty in Mozambique, the country must use better techniques to protect its citizens and the land they depend on.

– Sydney Blakeney
Photo: Flickr

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US Working to Reduce Poverty in Mozambique

U.S. working to reduce poverty in MozambiqueThe country of Mozambique, situated in southeast Africa, is ranked as of the world’s poorest nations. Since its independence from Portugal in 1975, this country has struggled to survive as a free nation. However, poverty rates are on the decline, with the U.S. working to reduce poverty in Mozambique.

One of the main causes of Mozambique’s extreme poverty rates is that following its independence in 1975, the country endured a civil war from 1977 to 1992. This war drained the country of its national resources. Shortly after the resolution of the civil war, the United States stepped in, providing much-needed aid to the hurting country. The United States is still Mozambique’s largest bilateral donor, giving an annual $400 million towards relief measures.

The United States and Mozambique both share a commitment to improving health, education and food security for the Mozambican people, which can be seen through the success of U.S.-funded programs.

For example, in 2000, after severe floods occurred in Mozambique, the United States provided assistance to 115,000 families to rebuild their homes. In addition, the PEPFAR program, supported by the United States, also works with the Mozambican government, saving hundreds of thousands of lives from the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The United States also provides for the future of the country through the Feed the Future program, educating farmers on how to develop their land to increase food production and therefore provide for their people, drastically reducing the hunger percentage.

All of these programs demonstrate the positive effects of the U.S. working to reduce poverty in Mozambique; however, there is still much that needs to be done, as the majority of the population still lives in extreme poverty. For every percentage point of economic growth between 1996 and 2009, Mozambique’s poverty rate only decreased by 0.26 percentage points. This is half of what other African countries have achieved in terms of poverty reduction rates.

The reason for this difference in numbers is because there is not an even distribution of funds among the Mozambican people. If Mozambique’s growth had been more equally shared between groups of people living throughout the country, an estimated two million additional people could have been lifted out of poverty.

Rural areas contain a much larger percentage of people living in poverty because of the difficulty in accessing relief methods provided to those in more urban settings. However, even with the uneven distribution of funds and other methods of aid, with the U.S. working to reduce poverty in Mozambique, things are looking up for the country.

Despite all of the struggles Mozambique has had to endure, its future is looking bright. Although it is ranked as having one of the world’s worst healthcare systems, the country has made significant progress in reducing mortality rates. Its economic success has also started to pick up the pace as seen in 2017, when the GDP growth rate increased 2.9 percent from the preceding quarter.

With numbers like these, it can be seen that Mozambique is slowly reducing the number of people living in poverty. However, it still relies on foreign assistance such as that from the United States, and it is vitally important to continue these relief methods.

– Adrienne Tauscheck

Photo: Pixabay

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10 Facts About Poverty in Mozambique

Poverty in MozambiqueAlthough Mozambique has made considerable progress in reducing poverty, more than 80 percent of Mozambicans continue to live on less than two dollars per day. International humanitarian organizations continue to fight poverty in Mozambique by providing aid in the hopes of ending hunger, improving water and sanitation quality and advancing education and health care.

USAID, through their Feed the Future Program, provides resources to increase agricultural production as well as educate Mozambicans about nutrition and health. In addition, CARE continues to provide valuable funding and resources to secure clean water and sanitation. UNAIDS focuses solely on the early identification and treatment for Mozambicans with HIV, with the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

 

Top 10 Facts About Poverty in Mozambique

 

  1. As a result of the civil war in Mozambique from 1976 to 1992, infrastructure was destroyed, six million people were displaced and as many as one million deaths were reported.
  2. Extreme climate conditions, including floods and droughts, hinder the country’s development. Severe flooding and droughts threaten access to clean drinking water as well as the ability to grow and sustain food through agriculture.
  3. Mozambique ranks 181 out of 187 countries in the most recent UNDP’s Human Development Index; 70 percent of the total population lives in poverty. The Human Development Index evaluates life expectancy, access to education and Gross National Income (GNI) to measure the progress of human development in a country.
  4. In a 2017 study conducted by USAID, “94 percent of girls in Mozambique enroll in primary school, more than half drop out by the fifth grade, only 11 percent continue on to study at the secondary level and just one percent continue on to college.” As a result, Mozambique’s literacy rate is only 47 percent. The literacy rate for women is 48 percent, while for men it is 60 percent. As a result, women are more vulnerable to poverty than men.
  5. According to USAID, Malaria accounts for 42 percent of deaths among children under five years of age. However, 100 percent of the population is at risk of contracting the disease due to flooding and droughts, both of which increase the likelihood of transmitting the disease.
  6. According to UNAIDS, Mozambique has the eighth-highest prevalence of HIV in the world and ranks third in the world for children who have contracted the disease. As of 2015, 1.5 million people have contracted the virus and 39,000 deaths have been attributed to AIDS.
  7. UNICEF reports that one in every five children are severely deprived of education and 39 percent have no access to newspapers, radio or television. USAID states that, while the government has made considerable progress in ensuring children have access to education, the quality of this education continues to fall short: Among children who finish primary school, nearly two-thirds leave the system without basic reading, writing, and math skills.
  8. Almost one-third of the population suffers from malnutrition and one in every five children is severely nutritionally deprived. UNICEF estimates that 43 percent of children under five suffer from malnutrition and 45 percent of deaths in children under five are attributed to malnutrition.
  9. Over half of the population of Mozambique does not have access to clean water. In addition, 21.4 million people do not have access to proper sanitation. According to the World Bank, 17 percent of children under five die because of poor water and sanitation.
  10. As of 2015, life expectancy in Mozambique is only 55 years in comparison to 79 years in the U.S. Factors contributing to the short life expectancy include a high rate of poverty, communicable diseases and poor water quality and sanitary conditions.

Many issues contribute to poverty in Mozambique. While numerous organizations supply aid and bring awareness to the struggles that the country faces, continued efforts must persist. Programs are still needed to increase economic stability in the region as the World Bank reports that “the geographical distribution of poverty remains largely unchanged.” Furthermore, initiatives to increase teacher quality and efficacy are necessary to improve literacy and the quality of education. Finally, since women are more susceptible to poverty than men, empowerment projects are necessary for ensuring that poverty in Mozambique is eliminated.

– Deb Blessman

Photo: Flickr

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Ending Child Marriage in Mozambique

Child_Marriage_in_Mozambique
According to UNICEF data in 2014, child marriage in Mozambique is not uncommon: 48 percent of women in Mozambique aged 20 to 24 married before they were 18 years old; 14 percent of them were married by age 15.

Although the percentage of child brides in Mozambique has declined from 56.6 percent in 1997, Girls Not Brides reports that “population growth has meant that the actual number of married girls has increased.”

To address this issue, Mozambique has launched a new, multi-organization plan to end child marriage, led by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Affairs. According to Girls Not Brides, one of the most important pillars in this new plan is reforming the legal framework surrounding child marriage. Although child marriage is officially illegal, it is not punishable by law, making its illegal status more of a symbol than a tool and failing to hinder the practice.

The plan also involves increasing girls’ access to education and creating a social mobilization campaign, as well as increasing sexual and reproductive health services to young women already in marriages. This education is vital, as UNICEF reports that women married young are likely to become pregnant shortly after, and that these young mothers have higher rates of maternal mortality; their children are also more likely to be underweight, underdeveloped and more likely to die young.

One of the biggest issues Mozambique still has to overcome is ending poverty. Often times, young girls are married off for economic reasons—their parents get money from the husband’s family, known as the “bride price,” and the poor families of these girls now have one less mouth to feed. According to Girls Not Brides, Mozambique requires continued outside support; though there are renewed efforts to end child marriage in Mozambique, it will be an uphill battle.

– Emily Milakovic

Photo: U.N. Multimedia