Save the Children in Mozambique
Save the Children has been providing support to children through our development and humanitarian programmes since 1950. We work with communities, local partners, and the government to design and deliver programmes to meet the needs of the most deprived children. We also advocate for greater investment of public and private resources for children.
The situation for children in Mozambique
More than half of population are children. Despite the progress that has been made, high levels of inequality exist which prevents millions of children from surviving and reaching their full potential.
One in four children under the age of five are stunted, with highest rates of stunting in rural and remote areas. Neonatal mortality rates remain high, resulting in children dying within their first month of life.
Children, especially those living in rural and remote areas, struggle to access quality education, and many do not receive any early education, which is critical for their development.
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8 provinces
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40+ partners
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567,647 children reached
What we do
Save the Children believes in a world where every child is healthy, safe and educated – playing, learning and looking forward to a future full of hope and opportunity. However, the impact of COVID-19, armed conflict, and the climate crisis have increased the vulnerability of many children in Mozambique in recent years. The world has never been wealthier, yet half of the children in Mozambique are deprived of their most fundamental rights, such as access to quality education, health care, good nutrition, and growing up in a safe environment.
Save the Children is the world’s first and largest independent child rights organization with over 100 years of experience. Save the Children started in Mozambique in 1986 at the height of the civil war with a focus on tracing the families of children who were separated during the conflict. Since then, we have dedicated our efforts on uplifting the country’s most deprived children and their families, directly reaching more than 1.8 million Mozambicans annually through our development and humanitarian efforts.
We work - with and for children and child-focused organisations - and communities in Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Manica, Maputo, Niassa, Nampula, Tete and Zambezia provinces. We adopt a community and system strengthening approach, partnering with the Government of Mozambique, civil society, and private sector actors.
We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.
Nine-year-old Milton* and his eight-year-old sister Celina* witnessed horrific violence when armed men attacked their village in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. Milton and Celina’s mother was beheaded and they became separated from their father who is still missing. They managed to escape and travelled south to a transit camp set up for families who had fled the conflict. Save the Children’s support: In the transit camp, Save the Children registered Milton and Celina as unaccompanied children and organised for them to stay with a foster family. We then identified and located their grandmother Adelia* (55) through our family reunification programme and reunited Milton and Celina with their grandmother. Adelia* (55) was devasted when she discovered her daughter had died, but knew she needed to stay strong and look after her grandchildren. Save the Children provided Adelia with support and advice on how to take care of her grandchildren. We are also connecting her with other services to receive support with food and shelter. Save the Children’s case management programme in Cabo Delgado is funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF. Background: Since September 2020, the conflict in Cabo Delgado has intensified with reports of increased violations against civilians including sexual violence, beheadings and abductions. The violence has forced more than 800,000 people to flee their homes, including 350,000 children. As the situation continues to deteriorate in the northern city of Palma, an increasing number of displaced families are arriving on a daily basis in Pemba and other southern districts. Families who have fled the violence are now living in often squalid conditions in transit or resettlement camps or in cramped houses with family and friends. Displaced children in Cabo Delgado are incredibly vulnerable. They may face violence, become separated from their families or be forced to work. Displaced children also lack access to healthcare and clean water, making them more exposed to killer diseases such as cholera and malaria. Many children are missing out on school, placing them at greater risk of exploitation, such as child marriage. Sacha Myers / Save the Children
GET IN TOUCH
NATIONAL OFFICE ADDRESS
Rua 3253, Bairro de Maxaquene C, Maputo, Mozambique.
EMAIL
scimoz@savethechildren.org
PHONE
+258 21 493 140 / +258 843025552
News & Stories
15 Dec 2025
Call for an urgent intervention to save education in emergencies
The armed conflict in Northern Mozambique has triggered a severe child rights crisis, leaving 441,721 children and 5,365 teachers in urgent need of humanitarian education support, with 138 schools closed and 82,800 children having their learning interrupted. Despite the critical scale of this emergency, humanitarian education funding has alarmingly declined over the past four years, dropping from 37.5% coverage in 2022 to just 5.1% in 2025, marking the lowest funding level across all humanitarian clusters. Save the Children, alongside its allies, is therefore demanding urgent action from donors, UN agencies, and government stakeholders to demonstrate their duty of care and commitment to reverse this situation, protect the right of conflict-affected children to safe and uninterrupted learning, and prevent long-term, intergenerational impacts resulting from a lack of education.
10 Dec 2025
Human Rights Day
In collaboration with National Human Rights Commission (NCHR), we reaffirm children's rights to dignity, protection, and opportunity in Mozambique. Save the Children and NCHR co-hosted the 4th Regional Conference of National Human Rights Institutions in Southern Africa, addressing priorities like ending early and forced unions, strengthening child protection systems, and safeguarding children in humanitarian and climate crises, while highlighting challenges in weak law implementation and limited child participation.
9 Dec 2025
PRESS RELEASE: Northern Mozambique humanitarian crisis escalates: spreading violence, massive displacement, and funding collapse threaten hundreds of thousands – humanitarian organizations warn and call for an urgent action
The humanitarian crisis in Northern Mozambique is escalating due to spreading violence, massive displacement (around 120,000 people, including 55,000 children newly displaced), and a severe funding collapse. The crisis is one of the world's most underfunded emergencies, with only US $73 million received against a required US $352 million. Humanitarian organizations call upon the international community, donors, and governments for urgent action, increased funding, and renewed commitment to address the rapidly growing needs.
