MAPUTO, May 19, 2023 — The World Bank Group has made $150 million available under a Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) to boost the Government of Mozambique’s early recovery efforts in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Freddy.
This decision responds to the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s request for support to respond to the emergency, which affected over 1.18 million people. The amount allocated will enable the rapid restoration of transport infrastructure, as well as the provision of education, health, energy, water supply, and sanitation services. It will also support the resumption of agricultural activity in rural areas and municipalities hit hard across the country. These include the capital city of Maputo, secondary cities Matola and Quelimane, and key towns in the provinces of Inhambane, Tete, Niassa, and Nampula.
“Our priority is to support the government to respond to this emergency quickly and ensure that the people affected by yet another cyclone can recover as soon as possible,” noted Xavier Agostinho Chavana, World Bank Disaster Risk Management Specialist in Mozambique. “We are glad to have provided this funding in record time when the country and its people need it the most.”
Of the $150 million, $100 million are allocated as a grant and $50 million as soft credit. The funds will be channeled to the following sectors: $51 million for transport, $19 million for agriculture, $26.1 million for water supply and sanitation, $8 million for water resources management, $2.8 million for education, $11.6 million for health, $17.7 for energy, and $13.3 for urban infrastructure.
These funds are drawn from existing World Bank projects in Mozambique and complement the $300 million additional grant approved by the World Bank in April as part of a Crisis Response Window (CRW). Of these $300 million, $125 million will fund secondary roads in Cabo Delgado, $50 million will finance upgrades in the drainage system in Maputo and $100 million will support upgrades in water storage systems countrywide. The CERC and CRW allocations follow a Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damages Estimation completed by the World Bank in April this year, which assessed the damages of Cyclone Freddy at $1.53 billion.
Since 2019, the World Bank has supported Mozambique in responding to climate shocks. Programs include the Disaster Risk Management and Resilience Program for Results, which provides direct financing to the government’s Disaster Management Fund upon verification of agreed results, to ensure that funds are used in a predictable, accountable, and transparent manner.
“The World Bank also supported the first-ever sovereign risk insurance to protect against cyclone winds and excessive rain in Mozambique, covering the cyclone and rainy season of 2022/2023,” noted Lizardo Narvaez Marulanda, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist in Mozambique. The insurance policy provides coverage for maximum losses of $46 million across the country, including in Maputo.
