The worst flooding in decades has left more than 230,000 children in Mozambique without access to school, Save the Children has warned. Heavy rains that started in late December caused severe floods across the south in January, and things got worse in mid‑February when Cyclone Gezani tore through the region with winds reaching 215 km/h — right at the start of cyclone season.
More than 720,000 people have been affected in total, and more than half of them are children. Over 430 schools were hit by the floods, with 840 classrooms fully destroyed. Many roads are still impassable, keeping both teachers and students from getting to school. Some buildings that are still standing have been turned into shelters for families who lost their homes.
The school year was supposed to start on 31 January but was postponed. Children are expected to return to school this Friday, though it is far from certain — many schools still need cleaning, repairs and disinfection before they are safe to use again. For families who were already struggling, the flooding has made things even harder. With livelihoods wiped out, many parents can no longer afford the cost of sending their children to school, raising real fears of dropouts and lasting gaps in learning.
“Children in southern Mozambique are once again on the front lines of the climate crisis,” said Ilaria Manunza, Save the Children’s Country Director.
She said floods have destroyed not just schools but health facilities, roads and other vital infrastructure, and the cyclone season has barely started. Save the Children — one of only two international organisations working on education in the affected areas — is running lessons in safe spaces and training teachers to use play‑based methods to help children cope and keep learning.
The organisation is calling on donors and governments to treat education as a central part of emergency response, not an afterthought. It is also pushing for longer‑term investment in school buildings and systems that can withstand floods and cyclones, so the next storm does not put another generation of children out of the classroom.
