UNICEF and UN CERF work together to support the education of displaced children in Cabo Delgado
UNICEF, with the support of CERF, worked with local partners and government, to respond to the urgent needs of the displaced children and families in Cabo Delgado, with a strong focus on resuming the education of displaced children.
Cabo Delgado, Mozambique - Thousands of children and people were forced to flee their houses and town in Mozambique’s northern province of Cabo Delgado, with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, due to armed conflicts. The children and people who fled their houses had to walk for days until they arrived in surrounding districts.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), with the support of the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), worked with local partners and government, to respond to the urgent needs of the displaced children and families, with a strong focus on education, health, nutrition, protection, water, sanitation, and hygiene needs.
"We are very happy with the resumption of classes. We stayed so long without school and we now hope to continue with classes without any further interruption," said a seventh-grade student in Matemo Island, in the district of Ibo, in the province of Cabo Delgado. Hundreds of students resumed classes on Matemo Island after more than five months of interruption due to an attack on the town of Matemo on March 16, 2022. With UNICEF and CERF support, the children in Matemo Island were able to resume their education through tents that will be used as temporary classrooms.
To address the need to increase the number of learning facilities in the return areas, 32 temporary learning spaces, made with bamboo walls and iron sheet roofs, were set up in the districts of Palma, Mocimboa da Praia, and Quissanga, benefiting around 3,200 children, including those who are returning to their areas of origin. Also through teacher training, there is an improvement in the teaching and learning process of around 26,395 children in schools.
