Mozambique
We use technology to empower poor communities with cash as they face diverse challenges.
Our work helps communities build resilience and recover from floods, droughts, and other climate crises.
ACTIVE Programs
Basic Income
Climate Disaster Recovery and Food Security
Ongoing program launched in 2021 to support disaster recovery for communities in Sofala province severely affected by Cyclone Idai.
The program delivers cash transfers and promotes improved nutritional practices to families living in the Gorongosa National Park buffer zone. Close proximity to wildlife from the park creates unique security and economic challenges for these communities.
Transfer Size
$40 per month for 24 months
Households Reached
5,000
Outcomes
Recipients have reported substantial improvements in their food security and diet diversity since the start of the program. In addition to using cash to meet their basic needs, many families have made investments in their homes, businesses, education, and health.
Partners
The Gorongosa Project
Climate Survival
Cash+ Resilient Agriculture and Livelihoods
Ongoing program launched in Nhamtanda district in 2023 to build resilience for small farmers by delivering cash alongside climate-smart agriculture training.
Transfer Size
$800 across 2 transfers
Households Reached
5,500
Outcomes
Small farmers in Nhamatanda are vulnerable to recurrent shocks, including extreme weather such as floods and drought.
Recipients report buying fertilizers, seeds/other inputs, and new farm equipment to help them adopt new agricultural practices for a changing climate.
Unconditional cash transfers combined with agricultural training allow households to make the necessary investments in their farms while preserving their flexibility to respond to other pressing needs.
Partners
ADRA Mozambique, USAID
PAST Programs
Emergency Relief
Cyclone Freddy Emergency Relief
Pilot program to send cash to communities at risk of flooding before disaster hits. People in flood-prone areas remotely register via SMS and are automatically paid 3-5 days before a flood is predicted to hit their area.
Transfer Size
$225
Recipients Reached
8,000
Outcomes
Flooding affects the homes and livelihoods of tens of thousands of Mozambicans every year, yet emergency assistance often arrives long after people need it. GiveDirectly seeks to contribute to the growing body of evidence behind anticipatory action by sending people emergency cash before floods arrive, thus allowing them to take protective measures (such as evacuating or stockpiling supplies) and ensuring access to much-needed cash in the immediate aftermath.
To target payments, we used historical flood data to predict which communities were most at risk of flooding from Cyclone Freddy. Ultimately the 11 villages we identified weren’t hit with severe flooding, but 90% of recipients had survived a significant flood in the prior year. Read more about anticipatory action for floods here→
Partners
INGD, Google.org
In the News
Families in Mozambique are using cash to transform their lives.
Antonio went back to finish secondary school
“I was devastated when my father told me that he couldn’t afford to send me to school anymore after 7th grade. I was forced to drop out of school for a period of 3 years due to lack of money to buy school materials such as exercise books, pencils, and pens. After my mother got enrolled into the GiveDirectly program, I was able to go back to school and so far I am studying 9th grade. I hope to continue with school until I go to university.”
Joana reinforced her house
“Whenever we experienced heavy rains and floods, my clay house would be washed away. I would ask neighbors living on higher lands to help me and my children with a place to stay until the water subsided. With the money from the transfers, I have improved the durability of my house by building it with baked bricks, plastering with cement instead of clay, and applying metal roof sheets instead of thatch grass.”
Geta moved away from elephant crop raids
“My family suffered from attacks by elephants that came and destroyed all our crops, leaving us with nothing to eat. Elephant attacks killed three of my neighbors. When I received the money, I immediately moved to an area without elephants. I opened a store where we sell bread and other items and I bought maize and sesame seeds to plant. Now, my family is happy and secure. We have food, my children go to school, and we have two businesses that help us a lot.”
Ateria moved to higher ground after floods
“The biggest challenges that affect us here in the village are cyclones and floods. (After receiving cash) I am able to buy food for myself and my children. I am going to move to a high place where the floods cannot reach me. Over time I will also replace all the things I, lost little by little.”
Poverty in Mozambique
Despite abundant natural resources and coastal access, Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world— nearly 3 out of 4 people live in extreme poverty It ranks 167th out of 173 countries on the Human Capital Index with a score of 0.36, below average for countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Lack of regular meals and nutritious food leaves 48% of children under 5 stunted. More than 30% of youth aged 15 to 19 are neither enrolled in school nor employed, limiting access to opportunities.
Mozambique saw rapid growth in the 1990s and 2000s, though the wealth was not shared equally. Recently, poverty has risen again in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, repeated climate disasters, and conflict in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
The Government of Mozambique’s Five-Year Program, 2020-2024 lays out its commitment to inclusive development and poverty reduction. Innovative programming that targets rural areas in the center and north of the country will be essential to achieving this aim.
Sources: Our World in Data, World Bank, Government of Mozambique, UN Women