Mozambique at a glance

Mozambique at a glance

Country Programme 2007-2009

Country Programme 2007-2009

Country Programme 2002-2006

Country Programme 2002-2006

UNICEF history in Mozambique

UNICEF history in Mozambique

 

Mozambique at a glance

A nation in progress

Mozambique is a country of great potential and many contrasts. Located in southern Africa, it has borders with six other countries and more than 2,500 km of Indian Ocean coastline.

Its population is strikingly young, with 10 million children accounting for half of the total population of 20 million.

Around 70 per cent of Mozambicans live in rural areas, where the majority eke a living from subsistence farming. Recurrent drought in the country’s interior, however, has led people to migrate to urban and coastal areas with adverse environmental consequences, such as desertification and pollution of surface water.

While Mozambique’s income per capita is US$ 310, well below the sub-Saharan average of US$ 754, the country has emerged as one of Africa’s most successful examples of post conflict reconstruction and economic recovery.

Since the end of a 16-year civil war in 1992, Mozambique’s economy has grown at a strong pace. Between 1997 and 2003, economic growth averaged about nine per cent, well above the continent’s average, and continues to grow.

During the same period, the proportion of Mozambicans living below the poverty line fell from 69 per cent to 54 per cent, exceeding the goals set out in the Government’s first Poverty Reduction Strategy, known as PARPA.

National policies and legislation have been developed with key global priorities for children and women in mind. Mozambique shows promise of meeting several of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets related to poverty reduction, child mortality and maternal health.

The MDGs – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV and AIDS, all by the target date of 2015, form a global blueprint to meet the needs of the world’s poorest people.

The country has successfully been to the polls three times since the end of the war. The most recent presidential elections in 2004 have reaffirmed the country’s commitment to political stability, democratic governance and national reconciliation.

The country has also attracted strong donor support and high inflows of foreign direct investment. Foreign aid represents 15 per cent of Mozambique’s Gross Domestic Product, compared to 6–8 per cent for the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa.

In 2006, 80 per cent of external development assistance to Mozambique was provided by a group of 18 bilateral and multi-lateral donors.

© UNICEF/MOZA06-1117/G.Pirozzi

Challenges ahead  

Despite the impressive economic recovery, Mozambique is among the world’s 20 poorest countries, ranking 168 out of 177 countries on the 2005 Human Development Index. About half of the adult population lives in poverty.

Child poverty is a pervasive and deep rooted problem, with about 58 per cent of children living below the poverty line. One of Mozambique’s biggest challenges will be to translate its economic gains into improved child and maternal health and well-being over the medium and longer term.

Poverty reduction efforts and other social advances have not benefited everyone equally. Disparities in income, education, health and nutritional status as well as access to safe water and sanitation exist between those living in rural areas and urban areas; between men and women, boys and girls and between those that are educated and those that are not.

For those who are poor and vulnerable, life is aggravated by periodic drought and floods. Poverty means that families cannot recover from the blow of natural disasters and debilitating illness. When combined with HIV and AIDS and drought, poverty strikes at the most vulnerable. Pockets of high malnutrition, affecting especially orphaned children, can be found in areas with severe food insecurity and high HIV prevalence.

HIV and AIDS is the greatest threat to Mozambique’s development. There are about 1.7 million people living with HIV and AIDS – 58 per cent are women.

Out of the country’s 1.6 million orphans in 2006, more than 380,000 have lost their parents to AIDS-related illnesses. As parents continue to die, the number of orphaned children is predicted to rise to 626,000 in 2010. Life expectancy is also expected to fall from 37.1 years in 2006 to 35.9 years by 2010.

The Government and its partners have scaled up their response to halt the spread of HIV and AIDS. This effort needs to be sustained and strengthened as the impact on those who have been infected and affected increases.