New partnership agreement between the High Commission of Canadain Mozambique,the United Nations Human Settlement Programme(UN-HABITAT), and the International Organization for Migration(IOM) for the Sustainable and Gender-sensitive Integration of InternallyDisplaced Peopleprojectin Pemba, Cabo DelgadoJuly17, PEMBA–
The High Commission of Canada announces a $CDN2 millioncontributionfor the Sustainable and Gender-sensitive Integration of InternallyDisplaced People (IDPs)project inthe Mahate neighborhood inPembaCity, Cabo DelgadoProvince,led by UN-Habitat and implemented jointly with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Thisinnovative pilot project aims to promote urban durable solutions to internal displacement by laying the foundations for the sustainable and voluntary local integration of IDPs in and around Pemba.
Employing a ground-breaking new methodology tosustainablyaddressthepressurescaused in hostcommunities and IDPsby the armed conflictin Cabo Delgado, the project encompasses a diverse array of activities designed to bolster social cohesion, facilitate livelihood opportunities, improve living conditions, and strengthen the institutional capacities of local authorities and communities.
This announcement follows a year of implementationthat hasreached a key milestoneafter having identified the most urgent needs of the community.As first steps in the implementation of the project, participatory assessments and community consultations werecarried out in the neighborhoodof Mahate, with the aim of analyzing the coexistence between the communities and the integration of the displaced community, especially womenand girls, as well as the accessibility of services and infrastructures.
Today marksthe beginning of the construction and rehabilitationefforts for a new physical infrastructurein Mahate, whichwere conceptualized and designed with the active participation of IDPs and host communities, with special focus on woman and girls.Grounded in the principles ofparticipatory design and formulated in collaboration withdisplacedand host communities, this intervention will improve community infrastructure, serving as a central hub for addressing community-specific concerns and issues.
With this announcement, Canadawishes to highlight the importance of investing in durable solutions in northern Mozambique with the lens of gender-sensitive developmentin conflict-sensitive settings, to ensure sustainable living conditions for both IDPs and host communities. Canada encourages support to similar initiativesthat can be informed by the Sustainable and Gender-sensitive Integration of InternallyDisplaced People (IDPs)project’s best practices and lessons learned in otherparts of Cabo Delgado to address root causes of the conflict and improve resiliencyof the affected communities.
Quote“Today is an important milestone with the start of construction of this innovatively designed space that counted on a robust and meaningful engagement of IDPs and Host Communities in its design. It is specially intended to help facilitate durable solutionsfor the empowerment and resiliency building of women and girls.
I look forward to seeing how this project continues to create economic opportunities for the people of the Mahate neighborhood, including the improved cohesion between host communities and displaced peoples” –Sara Nicholls, High Commissioner of Canada to Mozambique.ContextSince the aftermath of the Palma attacks in 2021, Canada has been implementingsmall-scale projects in Cabo Delgado to support affected populations, with a focus on protection and support forwomen and girls,while efforts led by government authorities and partners areputin place to restore stability. (Moz24H)
