UK to provide up to £6 million of UK aid to support victims of deadly East Africa cyclone

The UK will provide up to £6 million of UK aid to support the victims of a devastating cyclone and torrential rains which may have left more than a thousand people dead in Mozambique, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt announced on 18 March.

The UN estimate that 600,000 people are affected in Mozambique and 900,000 in Malawi.

The UK will also send tents and thousands of shelter kits to Mozambique to help provide immediate shelter to those that have been forced to flee their homes.

“I have made £6 million of UK aid available to help meet the immediate needs of people who have lost everything. We have deployed a UK team of DFID experts who are now on the ground in Mozambique helping to co-ordinate the UK’s response to this disaster, and we hope to have vital UK aid supplies in the region shortly. We stand ready to scale up our support if needed. The images of loss and devastation following this deadly cyclone and extreme weather are shocking. The people of Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe should know that they are firmly in our thoughts at this difficult time and that the UK stands by their side,” said International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt. 

In addition to this support, DFID already provides core funding to international aid organisations on the ground, including UN agencies and the Red Cross movement, which are providing emergency humanitarian relief as part of the international response in the region.

Original source: DFID
Published on 18 March 2019