Mozambique: Over a million displaced by violence in Cabo Delgado
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00:00Now hundreds of thousands of displaced families in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado region continue
00:05to struggle daily with the aftermath of an under-reported conflict. Now since 2017,
00:10violent clashes have forced millions from their homes as armed jihadist extremists attack
00:16communities and clash with security forces. Now the displaced have witnessed brutal violence
00:22that has claimed thousands of lives and although there has been some improvement to security,
00:28there's still a ways to go and many are still stuck in limbo in hubs for the displaced like
00:34the city of Pemba. Well now I'm joined by Jorge Moreira da Silva, UN Under-Secretary General
00:41and UNOP's Executive Director. Now he's recently back from Mozambique where he's been trying
00:47to oversee efforts to shore up basic infrastructure at hubs for the displaced. Jorge, thanks very much
00:54for making the time to come speak to me. First of all you know I mentioned there just some of
00:58the improvements that we've seen when it comes to security in Mozambique but it's far from safe.
01:05Is the country or Cabo Delgado specifically really at a point when it can afford to focus
01:11on anything other than security at this point? Thank you Jorge, it's a pleasure to be with you
01:18and with our colleagues this evening. Indeed the situation improved if you compare the situation
01:25today with 2017 or even 2020 or 22. The security conditions improved however we are not yet at the
01:34stage where we can say that the problem is solved. One million people had to left to leave their homes
01:42to find a safe place. Half of them returned to their homes but we still deal with more than
01:52500,000 internally displaced people. The security condition as I mentioned improved but for instance
02:00last May in Macomia there was a very intense attack. So I would say that the development
02:08component is critical. Cabo Delgado was facing poverty, inequalities, vulnerability and fragility
02:19even before these attacks in 2017. It's important to now go beyond short term and to provide all
02:28the development support that the province needs. This is important both because many people are
02:34still suffering both the host of communities and the forced displaced people but also because
02:39the more we do on development the greater will be the gains in terms of peace and security.
02:44Yeah because you were saying that one of the concerns that you specifically have from
02:48actual experiences you've had with people on the ground is that this uncertainty that
02:53particularly young people are facing in the region means that they might be more vulnerable
03:00to extremist elements who might be looking to recruit disenfranchised young people. So how does
03:06the work that is currently being done address that? That's the key issue. Even if I insist the security
03:16dimension is working well, the government has managed to improve the security, we know that
03:23it's important to cut any chances of the young people to be recruited by these terrorist groups
03:30and we know that the chances to reduce or our ability to reduce those chances are ultimately
03:36related with two things, education and job creation. That's why it's so important to invest
03:42on development. Investing on development it's the best way to build resilience and to address
03:47root causes of fragility. That's why these activities are very much focused on
03:56building schools, building health facilities but also creating the best conditions for job creation.
04:03But you know it's a poor region, they're coming out of conflict, you're putting in infrastructure
04:10because they don't have infrastructure. How do you make sure the work that you're doing now
04:14actually produces long-term gains? Are you just parachuting in you know infrastructure,
04:19tools, buildings or is there something in this mechanism that means that the actual people
04:26left behind can take the reins and continue to reap the rewards of the work that you're doing here?
04:34I think that it's working. You know this partnership between the government, the World Bank
04:39and UNOPS is delivering results. It's delivering results because we are building all these
04:43facilities, 40 schools, 24 health centers, 17 community markets but also because
04:53the providers, the suppliers, the people that we contract to deliver these projects are from Mozambique.
04:5997% of all the providers are coming from Mozambique and 50% of them from Pemba and from Cabo Delgado.