UNICEF history in Mozambique
UNICEF has supported Mozambique for almost four decades during which the country has been facing challenges of war, peace-building, poverty, natural disasters and the surge of HIV/AIDS. The official presence of UNICEF in the country started 30 years ago. In the late 1960s UNICEF began co-operating with pro-independence movements in the Portuguese-administered African Territories including Mozambique, providing assistance for basic services, namely health, nutrition, rural water supply, education and emergency relief. A UN fact-finding mission visited Mozambique in February 1975. This led to a first ongoing commitment of US$1.2 million allocated for a mass vaccination campaign, other health interventions, rural water supply and the rehabilitation of teacher training centres. After Mozambique’s independence from Portugal on 25 June 1975, UNICEF opened its first office in Maputo, staffed with a Representative and an Assistant Project Officer. By 1985, UNICEF’s expenditure in Mozambique had increased fourfold. At the same time however, a civil war between the Government and RENAMO rebel group gripped most of the countryside, and women and children particularly bore the brunt. The war lasted for 16 years. Up to 1990, UNICEF spent US$ 35 million on emergency activities to support women and children displaced by a war which cost the lives of an estimated one million people. After the signing of the Peace Accords in 1992, UNICEF supported reconciliation efforts including the demobilisation of child soldiers and their reintegration into society. UNICEF supported the Government and NGOs such as Save the Children to reunify children with their families. UNICEF also supported trauma counselling for thousands of children and their families. Another focus of the UNICEF programme was the rehabilitation of health posts, schools and other social services especially in remote areas which could not have been reached during the war. In 2000, Mozambique suffered the worst flood in its recent history. Almost 1 million people were directly affected by this emergency which attained a lot of international attention. UNICEF alone received US$ 21.5 million to support the victims. This enabled the organisation to expand existing programmes, such as community capacity development to fight Malaria and school health. Mozambique once again experienced flooding in 2001, affecting an even larger geographical area, but only about half of the number of people due to the low population density in the region. Moreover, the Government, as well as the UN System, were better prepared to respond because of the preparedness mechanisms put in place during and after the 2000 flood. Since the end of the 1990s, the response to the escalating HIV/AIDS crisis has become a major focus for UNCEF, because of its tremendous impact on more and more children. The Country Programme 1999 – 2001 addressed the pandemic for the first time. In the Country Programme for the period 2002 -2006, the fight against HIV/AIDS was one of the priorities, in addition to Child Survival, Girls’ Education and Protection. The overall goal of the co-operation was to support and strengthen Mozambique’s commitment and capacity to promote, protect and fulfil children’s right. The current Country Programme 2007-2009 continues to put priority on Child Survival and Development, HIV/AIDS, Basic Education and Child Protection. The programme aims to reduce disparities in the well-being of children by ensuring that vulnerable children in the most disadvantaged families and communities progressively realise their rights to survival, development, protection and participation. It supports national efforts to improve service delivery in child health and nutrition, basic education, water, sanitation and hygiene, child protection and social policy, advocacy and communication. The Cooperation Programme is based on a human rights based approach.
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