Nearly A Million Displaced In Northern Mozambique As A Forgotten Crisis Deepens
Nearly a million people have been displaced in northern Mozambique's Cabo Delgado Province due to an ongoing armed conflict, making it one of the world's most severe and overlooked displacement crises. The UN warns of escalating insecurity, limiting livelihoods and humanitarian aid, with vulnerable groups like women and children disproportionately affected by multiple displacements and increased risks.
Why it matters
This highlights a deepening humanitarian crisis affecting a vast population, with severe consequences for human rights, safety, and access to basic necessities. It underscores the urgent need for international attention and aid to a forgotten conflict.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), about 945,000 individuals have been displaced within Cabo Delgado Province in northern Mozambique due to the ongoing armed conflict, continuing to make one of the world’s longest-running and most obscure displacement crises even more severe. As part of World Humanitarian Day on August 19, 2026, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Mozambique, Dr. Catherine Sozi, highlighted the impact of the crisis on civilians and the humanitarian personnel assisting them, emphasizing the importance of protecting humanitarian activities. The region has been subjected to insurgency for almost a decade, and according to OCHA, insecurity in 2026 is projected to continue and escalate, with the ongoing raids, kidnappings, and extortions along key routes, mines, and coastlines further limiting the ability of people to earn a living and get humanitarian assistance.
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