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Nearly a million people at risk of hunger in Mozambique

Xinhua, October 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Over 902,000 people from the southern and central regions of Mozambique are at high risk of being hit by food insecurity due to droughts this year, the spokesperson of Mozambique's Council of Ministers, Mouzinho Saide, announced on Tuesday in Maputo.

Saide, who is also the deputy minister of health, said that currently food insecurity is affecting 130,000 people from the provinces of Gaza and Inhambane in the southern region, however a number of actions have already been taken to minimize the impact.

"There are a number of response initiatives in place, including water supply through the construction of boreholes and rehabilitation of reservoirs, there are trade fairs, assistance in terms of medicines to tackle some diseases such as diarrhea," said Saide.

The government is currently conducting sessions to encourage children who are abandoning lessons due to hunger to return to school as well as to guarantee that they don't abandon school again.

Droughts are severely affecting the northern districts of Gaza province and southern region of Inhambane province, both in the southern part of the country.

Due to lack of water, some people are sharing the same water sources as animals, while other people are migrating to other areas where they can find water and grass to feed their cattle, one of the reasons behind the large number of school dropouts.

The scenario is expected to change starting this October, the beginning of rainy season in Mozambique. But if persisting, the drought will likely spread to other provinces, namely Niassa, Cabo Delgado, Tete, Sofala, Nampula, Zambezia and Maputo province. Enditem