The on-going armed insurgency in Cabo Delgado that started in 2017 and the mass displacement it caused have created a complex humanitarian crisis in one of Mozambique’s poorest regions, Cabo Delgado. Prior to the crisis, Cabo Delgado province already suffered from high levels of poverty and absence of services. This situation has been worsened by the crisis which depleted what little resilience the province’s population had. Host communities find themselves having to share already scarce resources. There are evident signs of solidarity fatigue and tensions between IDPs and host communities result in frequent conflicts.

IDPs in Cabo Delgado are suffering from dire living conditions, extremely limited access to basic services and struggling to meet essential needs. Widespread lack of access to cash and income generating opportunities are causing negative multi-layered gendered impacts on the lives of IDPs. IDPs living in resettlement centres are among
those most vulnerable, women and children making up the majority of residents, where access to resources or income generating opportunities is very limited. Female-headed IDP households have constrained access to land when compared to their male counterparts, making subsistence farming difficult. The combination of these factors
has led to the commodification of humanitarian aid with the sale of part of the food received through humanitarian assistance being a prevalent practice.

While humanitarian assistance has been vital in meeting IDPs’ most urgent needs, there are still immense and persistent needs. Life at resettlement centres is difficult and protection risks abound, particularly for women and girls. Water is scarce and fetching it is an arduous and often dangerous task for women and girls. Access to health care is
limited, including to maternal and sexual and reproductive health services. Reports of sexual exploitation and abuse were frequent and included cases of community leaders requesting money or sex in exchange for guaranteed access to humanitarian aid.