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STORY: MOZAMBIQUE / CHILDREN MALNUTRITION
TRT: 1:42
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNICEF ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: MACUA / NATS
DATELINE: 30 NOVEMBER TO 4 DECEMBER 2020, CABO DELGADO, MOZAMBIQUE
1.Wide shot, Metuge Temporary Accommodation Center, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique
2.Wide shot, Metuge Temporary Accommodation Center, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. Woman walks past, boy on bike
3.Wide shot, children walking and playing at sunset
4.Wide shot, Ana Maria Biche (caretaker) cooking food as Maria Antumane stands over her
5.Med shot, Ana Maria Biche (caretaker) and Maria Antumane sitting together as food cooks
6.Med shot, Maria Antumane walking
7. SOUNDBITE (Macua) Maria Antumane, 10 years old:
“We came here because we were fleeing the war.”
8.SOUNDBITE (Macua) Maria Antumane, 10 years old:
“Some days, I remember my mother, father and all the people. All of them, I remember.”
9.Wide shot, Maria Antumane walking, shot from behind
10.Med shot, Maria Antumane sitting with her friends under a tree
11. Med shot, profile of Maria Antumane’s face as she sits with friends
Approximately 250,000 children have been displaced by the escalating crisis in Mozambique’s northern province of Cabo Delgado and are now at risk of deadly diseases as the rainy season sets in, UNICEF warned today (22 Dec).
The United Nations’ children’s agency is especially concerned that safe water, sanitation and hygiene services are insufficient to meet the growing needs of children and families in overcrowded temporary accommodation centers and in host communities. These services must be urgently strengthened and expanded to prevent the outbreak of water-borne diseases like cholera and the further spread of COVID-19.
“In less than two years, children and families in Cabo Delgado have faced a devastating cyclone, flooding, drought, socioeconomic hardship linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and conflict,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “As conditions in the province deteriorate further – especially with the start of rainy season – water, sanitation and health care systems are under increasing strain. Humanitarian partners on the ground must shore up these services to protect the lives and wellbeing of the region’s children.”
Health conditions like diarrhea, which are easily prevented and treated, can be deadly for displaced children without access to safe water and adequate sanitation. This is especially true for children suffering from malnutrition.
Weather-related disasters and conflict over the past two years have contributed to food insecurity and hunger across Cabo Delgado. Two out of every five children in the province are chronically malnourished and more cases of severe acute malnutrition are being detected amongst the displaced population.
UNICEF is expanding its water and sanitation response and supporting mobile health teams. These teams visit communities and accommodation centers to screen children for their nutritional status, provide lifesaving treatment with therapeutic food for severe cases, and refer children with medical complications to the nearest health center. Mobile health teams also provide regular healthcare to women, mothers and children, ensuring that key services such as antenatal care and standard vaccination cycles are observed.
Displaced children are especially vulnerable. Some may have lost contact with their families or find themselves in high-risk situations that can expose them to physical and psychological violence. Many children have witnessed or experienced extreme violence or even lost close family members to brutal killings and abductions. They need a comprehensive protection response including psychosocial support after experiencing such traumatic events.
UNICEF and its partners are running child friendly spaces where displaced children can enjoy activities in a safe and secure environment, while trained facilitators can identify those who need more specialized care. There is an urgent need to expand the network of trained case workers who can visit surviving children and their families at home to offer psychosocial support and referrals to protection and social services.
In 2021, UNICEF is appealing for US$ 52.8 million to respond to the most urgent humanitarian needs in Mozambique, including US$30 million as part of the Humanitarian Response Plan for Cabo Delgado.
Maria Antumane is 10 years old, living in the village of Bilibiza in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. Along with other children and adults from her village in Cabo Delgado, the north east province of Mozambique bordering Tanzania, Maria was forced to watch as members of an armed group beheaded another villager using a machete. As Maria escaped through the forest, her foot got trapped in an animal snare. She was eventually rescued and taken to a hospital in Pemba. Maria is now an orphan - both of her parents were killed in the raid. She lives with her guardian, Ana Maria Biche, in Metuge Temporary Accommodation Center, where they sleep on straw mats on the ground and eat rationed food distributed by NGOs once or twice a day.
