US embassy cable - 04MAPUTO198

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000198 
 
SIPDIS 
DEPT PLS PASS AF/S, AF/EPS - ABROOKS 
USAID/AFR/DP 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, MZ, SSH 
SUBJECT: FY-2004 SPECIAL SELF-HELP FUNDING REQUEST 
 
REF: STATE 19342 
 
1. This cable contains a funding request for FY2004 
for Embassy Maputo Ambassador's Special Self-Help Fund. 
The Self-Help Coordinator is Economic/Political Officer 
Loren Dent. The Assistant Coordinator is 
Economic/Commercial Assistant Elizabeth Filipe. 
 
2. Mozambique has achieved rapid economic growth, 
registering an 8-10% increase in GDP per year, and a 
successful transition to democratic national and local 
elections within 12 years of the end of a devastating 
civil war. These achievements deem Mozambique an African 
success story, economically and politically. However, a 
sharp dichotomy exists, as economic and political growth 
has not translated into increased opportunities or 
standards of living for the rural and urban poor. Seventy 
percent of the population lives in poverty, and the 
country is still considered one of the world's poorest. 
Rural per capita income is estimated at $70/year in the 
central and northern provinces. Mozambique ranks 170/175 
on the 2003 UN Human Development Index and the HIV/AIDS 
rate continues to rise, with the national prevalence rate 
at 13.6%. The development corridors, which handle 
Mozambique's transit and national trade, register 
HIV/AIDS rates as high as 26.5%. If Mozambique is to 
truly succeed, the GRM must pay more attention to 
development needs and provision of basic goods (health, 
education, water) to its people, especially in rural 
areas. 
 
3. The Special Self-Help Fund is critical to the 
Mission's effectiveness in encouraging the GRM to invest 
in its people and the advancement of their well-being. 
Last year, the Mission was able to designate funding to 
twelve projects, spread across seven of ten provinces. 
Funds are being used to build schools, purchase library 
equipment, counsel youth on the risks of contracting 
HIV/AIDS, improve latrine facilities and access to 
potable drinking water, and expand agricultural 
facilities. Projects are sustainable and benefit 
communities. Investments in education, health, 
sanitation, and agricultural capacity have brought groups 
together, creating critical linkages and supplying 
communities with vital resources. The Mission's ability 
to play a role in development and be on the front lines 
of poverty alleviation for the rural and urban poor makes 
a statement to the GRM and positively portrays the USG's 
role in Mozambique. 
 
4. In 2004, the Mission is keen to use self-help projects 
to support the GRM's poverty reduction strategy (PARPA), 
approved by the Mozambican Council of Ministers in April 
2001. PARPA is the GRM's top national priority through 
2005 and identifies six priority areas for action: 
health, education, infrastructure, agriculture and rural 
development, governance, and macroeconomic and financial 
policies. There are ample opportunities for the USG to 
make an impact in several communities in the fight 
against poverty eradication in support of this timely and 
critical effort. The Mission Program Plan for FY 2006 
states strategy 3 for Economic Growth and Development, 
"Support the GRM's Action Plan for the Reduction of 
Absolute Poverty (PARPA) by delivering development 
assistance to rural areas", making PARPA a focus for the 
USG. Additionally, aligning self-help projects with GRM 
priorities will strengthen bilateral relations. 
 
5. ACTION REQUEST: We request $90,000 in funding for the 
Special Self-Help Fund for 2004. The focal areas will 
include but are not limited to: 
- Health: The USG is committed to working with the 
GRM, NGOs, and other donors to fight the spread of 
HIV/AIDS in Mozambique. Additionally, local communities 
are in desperate need of health posts that offer services 
and medicine to alleviate and treat illnesses such as 
cholera, malaria, and tuberculosis. According to the 
World Bank Country Assistance Strategy, some 59% of 
Mozambicans in the more rural north have to walk an hour 
to reach a health clinic (34% in the more urban south). 
- Access to potable drinking water: On E/P up-country 
travel, municipal government representatives and 
community residents always site the lack of clean 
drinking water as a major local issue. The quality of 
water available and the distance it takes to walk to a 
well site is a critical social concern. The World Bank 
reports that only one in three rural people have access 
to a protected water source (and only one in forty have 
electricity). 
- Agricultural capacity-building: Rural communities 
must survive off of agricultural production. Communities 
need access to agricultural resources and technical 
training to successfully produce for their families. The 
hope is that resources and training will improve quality 
of life and encourage farmers to produce and sell, 
creating small and sustainable business operations. 
According to the World Bank Report, most Mozambican 
farmers live on fewer than three hectares of land and 
only about one in ten is able to sell surplus produce. 
- Education: Building educational facilities and 
providing resources is a top priority for the Self-Help 
Program. Children and young people in villages attend 
classes outside and have no pencils or paper. Investment 
in human capital is critical to the nation's development 
and must be addressed. The World Bank estimates that 
seventy-two percent of rural Mozambicans are illiterate. 
 
6. Strengthening the Mission's Self-Help Program is 
essential if the USG is serious about contributing to the 
welfare of Mozambicans. Local awareness about the self- 
help process has increased, leading to a steady rise in 
the number of excellent ideas for project implementation 
and applications received. A funding increase will permit 
the Mission to accomplish community objectives and 
support the GRM's poverty reduction action plan. 
Strengthening the Self-Help Program is a clear way to 
show USG support for an African nation that has potential 
to be a well-rounded success story economically, 
politically, and socially. 
La Lime