The program established by UNDP in partnership with the Government of Mozambique, named the Mozambique Recovery Facility (RF), has taken another important step today (26). The program brought together its governance body, the Steering Committee, for approval of the 2020 work plan which embodies integrated actions aimed at the resilient recovery of the country and its affected population after cyclones Idai and Kenneth.

The Implementation of the RF programme is overseen and guided by the Steering Committee composed of several members, which include its international donors, the European Union, China, Canada, India, Finland, Netherlands and Norway. As a national five-year program, the Recovery Facility also embraces strategic partnerships at all levels – from government, private sector, UN agencies, NGOs down to affected communities and local authorities.

Opening the meeting, Mr. Francisco Roquette, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP, highlighted the efforts of UNDP and its partners to continue working for people affected by disasters considering how the new COVID-19 crisis affects the beneficiary groups to be supported by the RF programme.

“To continue the implementation of activities envisaged under the Recovery Facility, the Steering Committee meeting is being organized when the entire world is being greatly affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Pandemic is a concern for each and every one of us and, especially for people affected by disasters which should benefit from Recovery Facility interventions”, Mr. Roquette explained.

The Mozambique Recovery Facility interventions are based on three important pillars, from which the 2020 interventions were planned in order to achieve not only the goals of early recovery, but also the root causes of vulnerability and build resilience against future disasters.

For this year, the first pillar “livelihood recovery and women economic empowerment” will be focusing on (i) identifying early economic recovery and income generation needs, (ii) benefitting disaster affected people with community-driven and gender-focused emergency employment and (iii) reactivation, strengthening and creation of micro, small and medium enterprises. The pillar also aims to address the needs of the most vulnerable and affected population, which include women, elderly, disabled people, child and women-headed households.

The second pillar “housing and community infrastructure” will promote interventions for construction of key community and public infrastructure at the local level in a risk-informed manner to ensure public service provision and resilience building. It will also support the most affected and vulnerable people located in rural and peri-urban areas rehabilitate their houses through promoting their active involvement with local contractors and capacity-building according to Build Back Better (BBB) standards. The program component also aims to better prepare local communities to cope with and recover from disasters.   

Another important area of the RF Programme is the support to the Government’s Reconstruction Cabinet (GREPOC) – the third pillar. The cabinet was established to provide strategic guidance and coordination to national recovery efforts. One of the main priorities of the year will be to operationalize the core functions of the institution in order to ensure coordination, harmonization and adherence to resilient recovery mechanisms and to effective solutions for the recovery of affected communities. 

Francisco Pereira, Head of Reconstruction Cabinet highlights the mandate of the new institution. “Lessons learned will guide in improving the coordination between agencies while reinforcing our capacity to lead of the national recovery program”, he stated.

Twenty four (24) representatives from several organizations were present at the Steering Committee online meeting. The attendees emphasized the importance of having collaborative communication and integrated strategies among organizations, government, affected communities and the general public in order to promote coherence and synergy of work. Other proposed actions for 2020 under the RF Programme are the provision of resources for lifesaving interventions among other crisis response measures in the face of recent challenges due to COVID-19.