Maputo, July 7, 2026 (Lusa) - Mozambique’s government cut its economic growth forecast for 2026 on Tuesday from 2.8% to 0.59% due to the impact of the floods, and has put forward a post-flood reconstruction plan worth €1.4 billion.
“The floods of 1 January 2026 affected around 724,000 people in the provinces of Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane, Sofala, Manica and Zambézia, with significant impacts on poverty, food security and livelihoods,” the cabinet spokesperson said at the end of today’s meeting.
Inocêncio Impissa added that “the macroeconomic impact has resulted in a downward revision of GDP [Gross Domestic Product] growth for 2026, from 2.8% to 0.59%”.
According to Impissa, the Comprehensive Post-Flood Recovery and Reconstruction Plan approved at today’s meeting, in Maputo, worth 102 billion meticais (€1.4 billion), aims to promote “a resilient, inclusive and sustainable recovery of the areas affected by the floods”, ensuring socio-economic stabilisation, the restoration of livelihoods and the strengthening of resilience to future disasters.
Estimates presented today by the government point to physical damage valued at around 69.5 billion meticais (€955 million) and economic losses of approximately 41.37 billion meticais (€569 million).
Impissa noted that the provinces of Gaza, Maputo and Sofala were the most affected, adding that “the damage is concentrated in the social sector, particularly housing, whilst the losses are predominantly in the productive sector, especially agriculture”.
According to the official, the plan approved today is based on the principle of resilience and is structured around five priorities: immediate humanitarian assistance, restoration of essential services, reconstruction of resilient infrastructure, economic recovery and disaster risk reduction.
“More than just a response to a disaster, this plan represents a paradigm shift, placing resilience at the heart of national development and contributing to the structural reduction of the impacts of future disasters,” said Impissa.
The government will implement the plan through a multi-level model that involves the cabinet for political oversight, the Minister for Planning and Development, Salim Valá, for national coordination, and the sectors and decentralised levels for execution.
“This implementation requires the mobilisation of significant resources through the State Budget, development partners, climate finance and other innovative financing mechanisms,” explained Impissa.
The model adopted “promotes inter-institutional coordination, decentralisation and efficiency”, following an inclusive approach that prioritises vulnerable groups and ensures territorial and social equity, he added.
The last rainy season in Mozambique resulted in the deaths of 314 people, affected more than 1.078 million people and damaged nearly 260,000 homes, according to a previous update from the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD).
The figures cover the rainy season, which usually runs from October to April, and show that 249,053 households were affected nationwide during this period.
Reports indicate that 19 people remain missing, and 361 people sustained injuries.
During this rainy season, 211,655 homes were flooded, 15,616 homes were completely destroyed, and 31,081 were partially destroyed.
The January floods alone, the most severe in several years, caused 43 deaths, 147 injuries and nine people missing, affecting a total of 715,716 people.
Meanwhile, Cyclone Gezani’s passage through Inhambane province on 13 and 14 February caused a further four deaths and affected 9,040 people, according to INGD data.
The rainy season also affected 9,735 kilometres of roads, 52 bridges and 237 aqueducts.
PVJ/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
