The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided an additional $110 million in development aid to Mozambique.
A USAID statement seen by APA on Saturday says the aid comes in the form of amendments to three agreements which, raises the total aid for Mozambique this year to $288 million.
The agreements were formalised on Friday by Mozambican Foreign Minister Jose Pacheco and the Maputo director of USAID, Jennifer Adams.
The amendments extend the three agreements for a further two years, to September 2021.
“This investment supports programmes focused on malaria, mother and child health care, family planning, nutrition, tuberculosis, education, agriculture, the conservation of biodiversity, and water and sanitation”, reads the statement in part.
It adds: “Last year alone, our current portfolio of programmes guaranteed that more than 135,000 households benefitted from agricultural assistance, over 847,000 educational books were distributed, 5.6 million malaria treatment kits were acquired, and over 270,000 patients with HIV/AIDS received anti-retroviral treatment financed by USAID”.
“These instruments bear witness, once again, to the excellent relations of bilateral cooperation between the two countries and are a valuable contribution to promoting sustainable economic and social development”, says Pacheco.
According to Pacheco, the aid came at a time when Mozambique was facing countless challenges, particularly the mobilisation of resources to rebuild the areas affected by the recent cyclones and floods.
Tropical Cyclone Kenneth bore down on the northern province of the southern African nation last month just as it was recovering from Cyclone Idai that hit the south iof the country in March.
Idai, the worst tropical storm to hit the southern African region in decades, moved into neighbouring Zimbabwe and Malawi, killing more than 1,000 people.
Jennifer Adams, stresses that the agreements “mark a joint commitment by the United States and Mozambique to ensure equitable and sustainable development results for the Mozambican people”.
She recognises the “incredible resilience” that Mozambicans had shown in the face of Cyclone Idai which struck the central provinces on 14 March, and Cyclone Kenneth, which hit the northern province of Cabo Delgado on 25 April.
“As the major world donor of humanitarian assistance, the US government is investing significant resources to help the people affected by the cyclones, Adams said. Up to 1 May, that humanitarian assistance had amounted to $67 million, and Adams pledged that the US will continue to assist Mozambique in its post-cyclone recovery plans.
CM/as/APA