Maputo — The United Nations Green Climate Fund (GCF) will disburse 28.2 million dollars to support social protection and climate adaptation in Mozambique.
The project, which aims at responding to climate change by investing in low-carbon development and climate resilience, will benefit almost one million people.
According to a statement, the project named "Building climate resilience by linking climate adaptation and social protection through decentralized planning in Mozambique', will be implemented by the international NGO Save the Children.
"It offers multiple benefits for rural populations, including improved food and nutrition security, local job creation and the empowerment of women and young people. It is one of 17 projects, in 35 countries, totalling investments of one billion dollars, approved at the 39th meeting of the CGF board, held on 18 July', reads the document.
"The decision expands the GCF's portfolio to 270 projects, for an expected total of 58.7 billion dollars, including 14.9 billion dollars in committed GCF funding', adds the note.
The GCF, says the note, has intensified its focus on climate adaptation, especially in vulnerable regions, including initiatives in least developed countries, Small Island Developing States and African nations.
"The GCF has approved its first social protection project in Mozambique and a project that increases resilience to extreme weather conditions and food insecurity in the Horn of Africa,' the document adds. Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by climate change in the world.
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The project's main activities are centred on strengthening institutional and community capacity for climate resilience, implementing locally-led adaptation actions and integrating climate change adaptation into district development planning and budgeting.
"Mozambique is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its dependence on climate-sensitive agriculture and the frequent occurrence of extreme weather events. The country faces significant challenges, such as rising temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts and more intense and frequent cyclones and floods', the document explains.
In the first quarter of last year, heavy rains and Cyclone Freddy caused 306 deaths, affected more than 1.3 million people in the country, and destroyed 236,000 homes and 3,200 classrooms, according to official government figures.
