As of April 10, Mozambique had registered only 20 cases of covid-19, and was carrying out an active program of screening, testing, and contact tracing for all entering the country. The success of containment was still fragile, however. In addition, 10 of the tests were traced to a worker at the multinational natural gas company Total in Cabo Delgado province, in the far northeast. In that same province, reminding us that the pandemic comes on the top of other urgent crises, jihadist insurgents are now expanding their offensive and extending their attacks inland.
Crises are rarely experienced singly and represent a complex mix of external shocks and internal weaknesses. Mozambique´s history is a particularly intense illustration of this sober reality. In previous decades, as well as in the last year, Mozambique´s people have experienced a succession of wars, the epidemic of HIV-AIDS, and, most recently, unprecedented storms including Cyclone Idai and Cyclone Kenneth. In each case, as all who know Mozambique will recognize, Mozambicans have shown enormous strength and creativity in responding to the most difficult circumstances.
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