About Mozambique

Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Between 1975 and 1990, the country experienced a devastating civil war, with the result that by the end of 1990, Mozambique was the poorest country in the world. The war cost the lives of over one million people, halted economic development and destroyed much of the infrastructure in the country.
Since peace was restored in 1992, the country has made significant progress on a wide range of development objectives, albeit from a very low base. Economic performance has been impressive, with an average GDP growth of 8.5% per annum since 1995. The number of people living in absolute poverty fell from 69% in 1996 to 54% in 2003.
However, a lot remains to be done. In the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Report 2007/2008, Mozambique is ranked 172nd out of 177 countries. The HIV infection rate stands at around 16%, the tenth highest in the world, and over 1 million children do not attend primary school.

Irish Aid's Work in Mozambique

Bilateral Aid to Mozambique in 2008: €36 million
Clinton Foundation in 2008: €12 million

Population: 20.5 million
2007 HDI rank: 172nd (out of 177)

Irish Aid began its aid programme with Mozambique in 1996.  The Programme is administered by the Embassy of Ireland in Maputo, which is staffed by the Ambassador supported by the development management team, which includes the Head of Development, Development Specialists, Second Secretary, Advisors and support staff.

The programme is guided by the White Paper on Irish Aid and the Irish Government’s commitment to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The framework for support is set out in a Country Strategy Paper (CSP), which describes Irish Aid’s strategy for development cooperation in Mozambique. The current CSP runs from 2007 to 2010.  The programme is designed to assist Mozambique’s efforts to further reduce poverty through broad-based economic growth, equitable social development and improved democratic governance.
The programme is aligned with the Government of Mozambique’s national poverty reduction programme – the “Programme for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty” (PARPA) and provides support under the three pillars of PARPA II (which runs from 2006-2009): Governance; Human Capital; and Economic Development. In parallel, support is also provided through general budget support and in the Provinces of Niassa and Inhambane.  
Governance

PARPA II stresses the important role of governance for poverty reduction and it is a central theme of the Irish Aid programme. Under this pillar, Irish Aid is continuing to support the objectives of the Government’s public sector reform and decentralisation programmes. These programmes work to build State capacity, and strengthen planning and reform processes at central and local levels. The Irish Aid focus is on those aspects that will provide better public services and greater devolution of power to the poor.  Irish Aid is also working with civil society organisations, including the media, to increase their capacity to monitor and advocate on governance issues.

Human Capital
Under this CSP, Irish Aid has adopted a programmatic approach in the key social sectors of education, health and HIV/AIDS. This has ensured that the programme is more aligned with national systems and plans.
• Education
Education is a significant component of the Irish Aid programme in Mozambique and    support is provided for the implementation of the Government’s Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP). The priorities of Irish Aid include improving the quality of primary education and increasing enrolment, particularly for girls.
• Health
Irish Aid assistance in this area focuses on the strengthening of the national health system as a whole. Support to the Ministry of Health is channelled through the health sector strategic plan (PESS).  The PESS provides for the expansion of basic services, community based health care services and addresses issues around the chronic lack of health professionals in the country.
• HIV/AIDS
The scaling up of home based care is a priority for Irish Aid in this sector. Direct support is provided to the National AIDS Council, as well as to two civil society umbrella organisations (MONASO and RENSIDA). This is in addition to Irish Aid funding agreed with the Clinton Foundation, which Ireland signed up to in 2003. This commitment will help to ensure that there is adequate investment in basic health systems so that they can deliver care and treatment for people affected by the disease. With this additional funding Irish Aid has become the largest bilateral donor to the pooled funds in the health sector.

Economic Development
Mozambique is predominantly an agricultural and rural-based society. Agriculture provides livelihoods for 80% of the population and the majority of the poor.
• Rural Development
Irish Aid provides support to PROAGRI, the national agriculture sector programme, which aims to build the public sector capacity for service delivery in the sector. Irish Aid engagement focuses on ensuring that tangible benefits are delivered to the rural poor. In particular, it will focus support on the development of an effective agricultural extension service to meet the needs of all producers with a specific focus on smallholders, particularly women. Irish Aid also provides support for a land registration fund to promote community ownership and management of land resources
• Private Sector Development   
The main component of private sector work to date has been in the area of agri-business in partnership with the NGO, Technoserve.  In addition, Irish Aid provides funding to KPMG and the Mozambican Business Association to produce a half-yearly Business Confidence Index (BCI), which highlights the challenges faced by businesses in the country.
• De-mining
The war of independence and the subsequent civil war left minefields across the whole country. A mine clearance programme was established in 1992 and the Government has committed itself to removing all known mines by 2009.  Irish Aid funds mine action activities in Niassa through a partnership with Halo Trust and in Inhambane through the UNDP’s Accelerated Demining Programme. 

Provincial Level Support
Inhambane and Niassa are amongst the poorest provinces in Mozambique. In its Local Devleopment Policy (2007), Irish Aid undertakes to reduce poverty at local levels and to build strong local institutions. This approach complements the Government of Mozambique’s commitment to decentralisation and locally driven development.

Irish Aid operates programmes in both Provinces to improve the capacity of the authorities to deliver key social services to poor rural communities. In Niassa, Irish Aid assistance is targeted at the expansion of access to community health care, gender equality in education and improving infrastructure. In Inhambane, assistance is directed at addressing HIV/AIDS through home based care services, pro-poor economic growth and the provision of a rural water supply. Many of the areas of support are aligned with engagement at national level. In both provinces, Irish Aid is the main development partner.

General Budget Support
Irish Aid is currently one of nineteen donors providing GBS to Mozambique (the G19 group). The partnership is based on an MoU signed in 2004 and represents the most advanced degree of harmonisation and alignment of donor programmes in the country. The MoU provides for annual government, donor and civil society joint reviews and monitoring of PARPA implementation. Irish Aid’s main focus in the G19 dialogue is on pro-poor resource allocation and the impact of GBS on the poor. Arising from the policy dialogue and performance which underpins this support, 65% of the budget is allocated annually to priority poverty reduction sectors, with at least 50% going to health and education.

Since April 2007, Ireland has been a member of the GBS coordinating group, the Troika+. This is a group of three bilateral donors, plus two multilaterals, which together represent the interests of the G19.