Our Work
In mozambique
Self Help Africa/United Purpose work in five provinces of Mozambique – Niassa, Cabo Delgado, Nampula Manica and Maputo. Our head office is in Niassa’s Lichinga city, with support offices in Maputo and Chimoio.
Our sister organization, United Purpose, has been working in Mozambique since 1996. We work with local government, civil society and community organizations, not only to provide better services to communities who need them but also to strengthen capacity of women and young people particularly to claim their rights to safe water, education, health care and food.
Full Name: Republic of Mozambique
Population: 33 million (World Bank, 2022)
Population Growth (Yearly): 2.81%
Capital: Maputo
Area: 799,380 SQ KM (309,475 SQ Miles)
Major Languages: Portuguese (Official), over 40 local languages including Tsonga, Makhuwa, Sena, Chichewa and Swahili
Major Religions: Christianity, Islam, traditional faiths
Social accountability and systems strengthening is a key focus of our work in Mozambique, with a view to improving citizens’ wellbeing and supporting the country’s efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It is widely acknowledged that social accountability enhances development outcomes and progress towards the achievement of human development, by strengthening links between governments and citizens.
We take a Social Accountability Cycle approach to help ensure the most pressing needs are prioritized in Government plans and budgets. We also prioritize support for gender equality and inclusion as part of our response to the UN call for Leaving No-one Behind, and are working with communities and partners to improve behaviour and practices in families and communities that promote and support women and girls’ rights, particularly their right to education.
We also work in water, sanitation and hygiene and climate change resilient agricultural production.
mozambique projects
KUFUNGULA MUAE PROJECT
Objective: Supporting young women and men to make their farming systems more productive, profitable, and resilient through increased demand and supply of agricultural services; Strengthening young women and men’s efforts to generate income through establishing partnerships/links with the private sector for resilient market development in the hard-to-reach market points; Providing young women and men with increased access to financial literacy, digitised markets and inclusive employment opportunities.
The project seeks to strengthen the current private and public partnerships to scale out economically viable business models that will stimulate last-mile access to inputs/services (including micro-finance, agro-processing, extension), private sector development (structured market access), farmer organisations and young rural entrepreneurs, financial inclusion and promotion of financial literacy and business solutions for rural entrepreneurs.
15,000 young people
EMERGENCY INTERVENTION TO PROVIDE FOOD ASSISTANCE TO THE POPULATION, AFFECTED BY THE CABO DELGADO HUMANITARIAN CRISIS, DISPLACED IN NIASSA PROVINCE
Objective: Enhancing the well-being of internally displaced people across six districts in the Niassa province through the delivery of immediate emergency support
This project will provide emergencial assistance to a total of 413 participating households, encompassing 2,251 individuals (1,003 women and 1,248 men) through the distribution of agro inputs and essential food and non-food items. The project also aims to empower participants by sharing knowledge on seed planting techniques.
2,251 displaced people
F3S - STEPPING UP WASH PHASE 2
Objective: Improving the WASH systems in the Lichinga municipality.
F3S is the Vitol Foundation-funded NGO collective action and collaborative strategic WASH planning project in Mozambique. This project supports SHA/UP’s District-Wide Approach to WASH in Mozambique, evolving and expanding the rural and urban programming. The project actions include evolving the market-based sanitation approach in rural and peri-urban Lichinga district, undertaking a small-scale pilot on urban sanitation in Lichinga town, and capacity strengthening of the Mozambique WASH team.
SHE BELONGS IN SCHOOL
Objective: To enhance the empowerment and learning outcomes of adolescent girls (10-19 years) in Niassa. Addressing harmful gender inequality, practices and behaviours by supporting girls’ rights.
Funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) through Save the Children International, the five-year She Belongs In School (SBIS) programme aims to enhance the empowerment and learning outcomes of adolescent girls (10-19) in the provinces of Nampula and Niassa in Mozambique. This will be achieved by working with more than 99,000 people – including girls and children, their families and communities, and school administrators, teachers, and education authorities – to tackle the underlying harmful social norms, practices, and behaviours that contribute to girls’ low rates of education access and achievement.
The programme’s primary target group is adolescent girls (aged 10-19), both in and out of the school system, who are at risk of not realising their right to education. Particular attention is paid to girls who face intersectional discrimination, including those with disabilities and girls living in remote, hard-to-reach areas.
Through United Purpose, our sister organisation, we are one of the implementing partners and our activities cover 20 communities in Mecanhelas district, Niassa province.
The project aims to achieve:
An increase in the promotion of and support for women and girls’ rights, particularly the right to education through improved behaviors and practices among families and communities (including religious leaders)
Greater self-belief, decision-making power and leadership exercised by adolescent girls to pursue education
Safer and more supportive learning environments that build the skills and competencies of adolescent girls and are responsive to their specific needs.
816 direct, 4150 indirect beneficiaries
GOTAS III
Objective: To assist communities in access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene.
The Transparent Governance for Water, Sanitation and Health programme (or GoTAS, drops in Portuguese, for short) is the third phase of a Government of Mozambique multisectoral programme that began in 2014. Co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, it aims to improve the health of 36,000 women and men living in rural areas in seven target districts of Niassa Province by taking action in the areas of governance, water supply, sanitation and health promotion. The districts are Chimbunila, Lago, Lichinga, Mandimba, Mecanhelas, Metarica and Sanga.
The Government of Niassa Province is responsible for implementing GoTAS through the Provincial Secretariat, Provincial Directorate of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources (DPOPHRH), Provincial Directorate of Plan and Finance (DPEF) and the Governments of seven target districts. Local technical support is provided by a consortium of two non-governmental organisations, SNV and Self Help Africa/United Purpose. Local implementation partners and UCA, CCM and FoFEN.
In the long term, the programme will contribute to improving the living and health conditions of women and men in the districts covered, specifically through access to safe drinking water and reducing the incidence of water-borne diseases.
This project aims to achieve:
Women and men living in rural areas can express their needs and rights, and demand responsibility from local governments and the private sector to provide basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services;
Decentralised systems (the district government, the private sector, water and sanitation committees) provide more equitable, efficient and integrated health, including high-quality basic WASH services that meet the needs of the vulnerable and disadvantaged populations;
Improve sector approaches through local realities’ evidence, engage in national level dialogue and influence the institutionalisation of program approaches through policy change, adoption and practice.
400,000 beneficiaries
SDG LOCALISATION
Objective: To strengthen decentralised governance bodies through promoting inclusive, equitable and sustainable social development and gender empowerment.
Since 2024, this project goes under the name ‘SDG Localisation’. In, 2024 this project had its name changed for ODS Localisation but keeps supporting the conflict-striken province of Cabo Delgado. It seeks to implement national policies and reforms in the field of decentralisation, testing the reforms at the subnational level. It does this by improving mechanisms for participation and accountability, aligning provincial strategic plans with the sustainable development goals, and developing a provincial gender agenda. Self Help Africa/United Purpose supports sub-national governments in implementing this project.
IMPROVING RESILIENCE OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN RURAL MOZAMBIQUE
Objective: To improve food security, income, nutrition and market linkages for smallholder farmers, particularly women.
This is a regional food security project implemented in Ethiopia, Malawi and Mozambique, which focuses on improving access to high quality potato seed, training farmers’ associations in how to produce their own seed locally, and connecting farmers to markets. It is funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through our long time partner, NGO Action on Poverty (AOP).
In Mozambique, the project aims to:
Improve the food security and nutrition of 1,200 smallholder farmers (mainly women)
Increase farmer incomes by developing an equitable value chain
Enhance links between private, public and research sector
Advance access to locally produced improved seed (Irish potato and orange fleshed sweet potato)
The project focuses on women’s capacity, power and ownership and place emphasis on strengthening coordination mechanisms between the key development rural agriculture stakeholders including the government, private sector and scientific institutions. The project is implemented in partnership with the local Association KUTSEMBA, community-based agricultural associations and the local government.
842 beneficiaries
STRENGTHENING WASH SYSTEMS FOR SUSTAINABLE AND INCLUSIVE WASH SERVICES IN SCHOOLS ACROSS LICHINGA DISTRICT, MOZAMBIQUE
Objective: This project aims to enhance the health and quality of life in 14 schools for teachers and students in Lichinga District through WASH interventions.
Working across 14 schools this project will address shortcomings of the WASH infrastructure drilling wells, and promote behaviour change through sanitation clubs and school-and district-level sporting activities. In the 14 schools selected for the project, children currently source water from unprotected wells and practice poor sanitation and hygiene. The project will provide direct interventions on WASH infrastructure and promote hygiene behaviour change in the schools through School Sanitation Clubs, as well as school-level and district-wide sports activities.
These interventions will promote increased access to safe water, increased access to sanitation, promoting improved hygiene and sport for development. The project will work in partnership with local governance structures to ensure project effectiveness and ownership. The project will further seek to strengthen WASH systems by running a diagnostic exercise to establish the poor access to WASH across the district.
Beneficiaries: 7,025 students and 227 teachers
SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN DISTRICTS AND MUNICIPALITIES OF NIASSA
Objective: To assist communities in access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene.
The Transparent Governance for Water, Sanitation and Health programme (or GoTAS, drops in Portuguese, for short) is the third phase of a Government of Mozambique multisectoral programme that began in 2014. Co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, it aims to improve the health of 36,000 women and men living in rural areas in seven target districts of Niassa Province by taking action in the areas of governance, water supply, sanitation and health promotion. The districts are Chimbunila, Lago, Lichinga, Mandimba, Mecanhelas, Metarica and Sanga.
The Government of Niassa Province is responsible for implementing GoTAS through the Provincial Secretariat, Provincial Directorate of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources (DPOPHRH), Provincial Directorate of Plan and Finance (DPEF) and the Governments of seven target districts. Local technical support is provided by a consortium of two non-governmental organisations, SNV and Self Help Africa/United Purpose. Local implementation partners and UCA, CCM and FoFEN.
In the long term, the programme will contribute to improving the living and health conditions of women and men in the districts covered, specifically through access to safe drinking water and reducing the incidence of water-borne diseases.
This project aims to achieve:
Women and men living in rural areas can express their needs and rights, and demand responsibility from local governments and the private sector to provide basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services;
Decentralised systems (the district government, the private sector, water and sanitation committees) provide more equitable, efficient and integrated health, including high-quality basic WASH services that meet the needs of the vulnerable and disadvantaged populations;
Improve sector approaches through local realities’ evidence, engage in national level dialogue and influence the institutionalisation of program approaches through policy change, adoption and practice.
400,000 beneficiaries