KEY DEVELOPMENTS

Food security actors estimate that approximately 1.65 million people in Mozambique are experiencing acute food insecurity caused by cyclone damage, drought, crop pests, and insecurity, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). In Zimbabwe, nearly 2.3 million people across most of the country are experiencing severe acute food insecurity earlier than usual due to poor crop production, compounded by damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Idai in southeastern parts of the country, as well as Zimbabwe’s ongoing economic crisis. Food security outcomes in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and southern Malawi are expected to deteriorate through March, the typical end of the lean season.

Tropical cyclones Idai and Kenneth—which made landfall in Mozambique on March 15 and April 25, respectively—destroyed approximately 79,000 houses in the country, the UN reports. As of July 18, more than 75,000 people remained displaced in cyclone-affected areas of Mozambique, despite ongoing efforts by the Government of the Republic of Mozambique (GRM) to facilitate the resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Relief actors have expressed concern about the lack of basic services at resettlement sites and continue to work with the GRM to ensure that IDP relocations are dignified, safe, and voluntary.

The UN has released updated Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs) for Mozambique and Zimbabwe to account for increased humanitarian needs among populations affected by tropical cyclones Idai and Kenneth. The revised HRPs call for increased funding from humanitarian donors to support immediate, life-saving assistance in the two countries and to begin post-cyclone recovery programs in affected communities, in addition to maintaining support for humanitarian needs pre-dating the cyclones. As of early August, the Mozambique and Zimbabwe HRPs were 43 percent and 47 percent funded, respectively.