UN calls for more funds for Mozambique, hit by cholera, floods, cyclone

United Nations, March 31

The UN and partners appeal for additional funds to aid Mozambique, reeling from the triple crises of cholera, floods and tropical cyclone Freddy.

"An extra $138 million is urgently needed to complement the government's response in southern and central areas of the country," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The office said the funds are in addition to the 2023 humanitarian response plan for Mozambique, which called for $513 million.

However, it is only 12 per cent funded.

"The humanitarian team in Mozambique urges donors to step up their funding to provide food, shelter, health, hygiene, water and sanitation services, and other life-saving assistance," OCHA said.

"The money, if received, will also help fight cholera, which has spread to eight of Mozambique's 11 provinces. Nearly 20,000 cases have been reported."

After making landfall on February 24 in southern Mozambique, Freddy meandered back over the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and Mozambique, gathered strength and hit the country a second time on March 11, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said.

It killed 10 people in Mozambique before dissipating on March 14, local authorities reported.

Freddy crossed the entire 8,000 km of the South Indian Ocean before its rampage of Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi, the WMO said.