The human face of the drought – Women and Girls coping with drought and climate change in Mozambique

Maputo, Mozambique (February 10th - February 23rd)

CARE Mozambique, the Embassy of Ireland and the Embassy of Sweden are hosting a photo exhibition “The human face of the drought – Women and Girls coping with drought and climate change in Mozambique” between February 10th - February 23rd in the Spazio Italia Maputo (located on the Av. Kenneth Kaunda, near the US embassy).

This photo exhibition provides insights into the lives of women and girls in Mozambique, who are struggling more than ever to cope with the current drought, the worst in 35 years.

The situation is particularly difficult for teenage girls who lack the experience and knowledge to come up with strategies to protect themselves and their children from hunger. The exhibition includes photos collected under CARE’s “El Niño: Through the lens of hunger” project, offering first hand perspective of the effect of the drought on the lives of women and girls.

Speaking at the launch of the exhibition last Friday 10 February, the Irish Ambassador, William Carlos, noted that “climate change is the single greatest threat to a future Mozambique with women and children, in particular, bearing the brunt of the impacts. We have a responsibility to do everything in our power to address this issue”.

The Swedish Ambassador, Irina Schoulgin Nyoni, said that “looking at the reality of Mozambique, where the majority of the population lives in the countryside and has a livelihood in agriculture, women play a very important role, and it is easy to see that they are the most affected.”

During the launch CARE highlighted findings of its report “Hope Dries Up?”, issued during the Climate Change Conference in Morocco in November last year. The report, which is focused on Mozambique, describes the disproportionate impact of the drought on women and girls, as well as mitigation and positive coping strategies. “We know that adaptation to climate change and droughts is our most effective tool to combat the severe effects. Sufficient funding for adaption and resilience programs is needed, as otherwise, hard-won developmental gains will continue to unravel and recovery will be costly and take several years,” said Marc Nosbach, Country Director for CARE.

“Mozambique presents some areas with arid and semi-arid characteristics, and the guarantee of water in these families is usually given by women and girls who have very often to travel long distances mortgaging the time they should have to study or engage in other activities that are fundamental to the development of their communities”, said Casimiro dos Santos Abreu, Deputy Director General of the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC).

The current 2015/2016 drought is affecting more than 2 million people across Mozambique.

For more details, contact:

Adérito Bié, Communications Officer/ CARE International| Mobile: +258 846521549; Email: Aderito[dot]Bie[at][dot]care[dot]org