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One of southern Africa’s success stories, Mozambique has made a remarkable recovery since the end of its civil war in 1992, transitioning to a stable democracy with steady economic growth. Although poverty rates have decreased, more than half the population still lives below the national poverty line. While child and maternal mortality rates have declined significantly, the life expectancy of Mozambicans stands at approximately 45 years due to the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS.
The Human Development Index ranks the country as the sixth least-developed out of 177 in the world, signaling a current vulnerability to economic and health crises in the event of natural or manmade disaster.
Emergency Response Program
Responding to Flooding in Mozambique
In 2000 and 2007, AmeriCares mounted two large emergency response efforts in the aftermath of devastating floods in Mozambique.
2007 Flood Response: Rainfall in the spring of 2007 caused flooding along the banks of the Zambezi River, leaving more than 170,000 homeless. In order to facilitate an immediate response to the devastation, AmeriCares partnered with International Relief and Development (IRD), providing a grant for $200,000 to purchase relief supplies locally. The AmeriCares grant financed a three-month program that addressed the urgent needs of the compromised hygiene and sanitation conditions. Additionally, the funding supported longer-term needs to rehabilitate the infrastructure and social services for 25,000 displaced people. Two months after granting the financial relief, AmeriCares supplemented its aid to Mozambique with an air shipment of more than 200,000 water purification tablets in March.
Moving from the relief and recovery phase to post-emergency reconstruction, AmeriCares provided a second grant of $152,000 to IRD to build a new health clinic and maternity ward on the island of Salia (located in the Zambezi River). Expected to open in the summer of 2008, this new clinic will serve a population of 15,000 people who were newly resettled from the Chinde district.
2000 Flood Response: The swelling water in the spring of 2000 forced more than 250,000 people from their homes and into makeshift refugee camps, where cases of cholera, malaria and diarrheal diseases were reported. After AmeriCares personnel assessed the situation on the ground, more than 80,000 pounds of medical and humanitarian relief—including antibiotics, oral rehydration solutions, anti-diarrheals, nutritional supplements and blankets—were promptly shipped to Mozambique from AmeriCares warehouse in Amsterdam. In partnership with UNICEF and the National Institute for Disaster Management, these medicines and supplies were then distributed to local health facilities and emergency clinics serving the displaced and affected populations.
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