OREANDA-NEWS. On June 29, 2016 the UN Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Representative in Mozambique, Marcia de Castro, paid a courtesy visit to the African Development Bank’s Resident Representative, Joseph Ribeiro in Maputo.

The UN representative, who recently assumed duty in the country, hailed the Bank efforts towards the economic and social development of Mozambique, adding that her office would like to work closely with the Bank in bringing durable solutions to the many challenging issues facing Mozambique. A particular area of cooperation that was identified is the combat against the effects of drought and the reinforcement of the upstream efforts to build resilience and capacity to manage extreme climatic situations.

According to the Mozambican Technical Secretariat for Food Security and Nutrition report of March 2016, at least 1.5 million people who are currently suffering acute malnutrition were in need of assistance. The Council of Ministers activated the Institutional Red Alert on April 15, 2016. The initial response led by UN agencies resulted in the donation of USD 34 million. The Bank Board approved a USD 1 million emergency assistance grant in June 2016 to provide food support to drought affected people in Mozambique.