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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday issued a call for action on climate change on the occasion of his visit to Beira in central Mozambique, which was devastated by a cyclone in March.
"The case of Mozambique must be a clear example for the world," he told reporters. "The big countries must take strong positions against global warming.
"It is urgent to stop financing fossil fuels."
Hurricane Idia, followed by hurricane Kenneth, crashed in Mozambique in March and April 2019, hitting the center and north of the country six weeks apart in unprecedented weather conditions.
More than two million people have been affected and about 650 have died.
The UN said Mozambique was very vulnerable to extreme weather and sea-level rise caused by climate change.
Sea level rise increases the strength of storm surges and drives stronger waves to the shore.
Four months after Cyclone Idai, António Guterres went to a camp where 480 families have sheltered under tents since the storm.
"My husband has been missing since the night of the hurricane," said Marta Muchanga, the mother of two, adding that her house and all her belongings had been swept away.
"We do not know if he died because his body was never found.I live here with my two children and I have no work.I braid hair to survive and to feed my children. "
Say lack of funds
Jonas Chicote, a local leader of the Mandruzi Resettlement Camp, said many families had been separated.
"The rescue process first focused on saving children and many parents lost their children, and over time, some have been reunited," he said.
One survivor said displaced families in the camp were short of food.
Relief agencies Save the Children, CARE and Oxfam released a joint statement Friday calling for more emergency food badistance, with 433,000 families having their farmland destroyed.
"Hurricanes and floods are proof that climate change is hitting the poorest hardest," the statement added.
The UN said humanitarian relief operations had affected 1.8 million people since Cyclone Idai hit, with 1,000 aid workers deployed in the area of impact.
But he added that less than half of the $ 282 million needed to complete the rehabilitation works had been collected.
"I was impressed by the ability of Mozambicans to recover from disasters," Guterres said.
"Everywhere, I've seen people busy rebuilding their lives.I've made a major call to the world to mobilize help in Mozambique, but we still need more.
"Recent research indicates that Mozambique is the second most vulnerable country in the world to the effects of climate change.
"Mozambique's contribution to global warming being zero, the biggest countries that contribute the most to global warming must help it.
"I do not want our money to finance the destruction, like what happened in Mozambique."
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