The Mozambican government have launched an invitation to the international community to participate iat the International Donors’ Conference on post-cyclone reconstruction, Idai and Kenneth, which recently hit the central and northern regions of the country, APA can report on Saturday.
The invitation was made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, José Pacheco, during his meeting with the diplomatic corps accredited in Mozambique to prepare the International Conference of Donors on post-cyclone reconstruction, to be held on May 31 on June 1st, in the city of Beira, capital of the province of Sofala, the worst hit by natural calamities.
At the time, Pacheco asked for technical and financial assistance for the global reconstruction, estimated at US $ 3.2 billion, to be applied in the social, productive and infrastructure sectors.
“In these efforts, as in the past, we would like to count on your invaluable assistance, be it technical or financial,” Pacheco told a media briefing late on Friday in the capital, maputo.
The official reiterated the importance of international partners’ support in implementing government programs, particularly in promoting resilience, including mitigating the risk of natural disasters.
He said that the government is aware of the worsening food insecurity and the human development index, the outbreak of water-borne epidemic diseases, and the slowing of progress in the indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals.
“These are the challenges that our society is predisposed to face with great audacity, imagination and a sense of purpose,” said Pacheco.
The minister praised the solidarity that has been provided by the international community, emphasizing that its contribution allows normalization of the lives of affected populations.
In mid-March, Idai destroyed the port city of Beira and submerged entire villages, vast swathes of land and 700,000 hectares of crops.
It killed more than 1,000 people across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
Last month, Cyclone Kenneth slammed into the Comoros and then Mozambique’s province of Cabo Delgado with storm surges and winds of up to 280 kph, stretching resources in a region still recovering from Cyclone Idai which has already left a trail of extensive damage to infrastacture.
The storm knocked out power and communications.
Some rural communities were reduced to mounds of jumbled wood, with only the occasional structure and coconut tree left standing.
About 700 participants are expected at the conference, from international organizations, cooperation partners, the private sector, as well as civil society organizations.
In addition to preparing the international conference, the Idai and Kenneth Post-Cyclone Reconstruction Office aims to ensure the reconstruction and restoration of the social, economic fabric as well as the destroyed infrastructure.
CM/as/APA