Pilot Project Report on Cash for Protection Assistance to Vulnerable Internally Displaced Persons in Chuiba and Eduardo Mondlane, Pemba, Cabo Delgado
It is estimated that around 800,000 people have been displaced in Cabo Delgado because of armed conflict and violence since 2017. Of these, 71.1% are in the host community leaving with their relatives or/and in rented houses, 21.5% in relocation sites and 7.3% in communal transit shelter (UNICEF, 2022). IOM DTM data suggest that as of February 2022 around 151,987 individuals were living in and around the city of Pemba, which has seen its population increase by nearly three-quarters of its 200,000 residents since 2017. This number may have increased In June 2022 due to Non-State Armed Groups attacks in Ancuabe district, triggering displacement movements within Cabo Delgado province of more than 20,000 displaced persons who are also seeking refuge Pemba.
Despite responses to this crisis, many displaced people in urban areas in Pemba city continue to be unable to meet their basic needs. The increase in population in urban areas has increased the prices of basic commodities and has put pressure on basic public services that people need daily, e.g health, education, shelter, water and sanitation. Limited ability to meet daily needs could lead to the emergence and development of harmful copying strategies. These copying strategies could be child labour, early marriages, reducing daily meals, lack of food diversity, borrowing food, relying on the help of friends and relatives and, in some cases, stealing and begging for food. Displacement also disrupts gender norms, thus creating increasing potential for sexual exploitation and abuse of women and girls, transactional sex and sex trafficking.
The District Government and INGD/Emergency Operational Centre has provided IDPs in Pemba with some assistance but do not have capacity to respond on a larger scale. However, in general there continues to be response gaps. There is limited space for intervention as the government is on record in encouraging IDPs to return to area of origin or to relocation sites to receive assistance.
