A Number That Should Stop You
In Mozambique, almost 100,000 children under five years old are experiencing wasting — the most severe form of malnutrition, where the body literally consumes itself to stay alive. This silent emergency represents a systemic failure to support the mothers and smallholder farmers who feed the nation but cannot provide for their own families.
UNICEF reports that more than 1 in 3 children are affected by stunting, their growth and development permanently hindered by long-term malnutrition.
What Wasting Looks Like
Wasting is not hunger in the way you feel it. It is the body eating its own muscle tissue because there is nothing else. A wasted child's arms are the circumference of a coin. Their skin hangs from bones. Their eyes are too large for their face — not because they grew, but because everything else shrank.
A wasted child is 12 times more likely to die than a well-nourished child. Not from starvation alone, but from diseases a healthy body would fight off — a cold, a diarrheal infection, or a fever.
Why This Is Happening
Mozambique has 36 million hectares of arable land and 81% of its population working in agriculture. There is no shortage of land or labor; there is a shortage of capital, technology, and infrastructure.
Farmers often plant by hand and harvest by hand. Looking toward the future, emerging technologies like satellite monitoring for crop health, blockchain for transparent supply chains, and AI-driven weather modeling could revolutionize how we support Mozambican agriculture. These innovations could one day provide essential data to improve yields and resilience for smallholder farmers.
$25 plants a farmer's season in Zambézia.
Paid straight to the local seed shop. You get the receipt, a field photo and a harvest update.
A gift, not an investment. Not tax-deductible.
The 72% Number
Approximately 72 percent of young children in Mozambique are malnourished. This is not a fringe crisis; it is the majority of an entire generation. Read more about the 72% Crisis: Why Most Mozambican Children Are Malnourished.
A child who is malnourished in the first 1,000 days of life will never recover full cognitive capacity. They will earn 20% less over their lifetime. Malnutrition is not a temporary condition — it is a life sentence.
What This Means for the Growing Season
For a smallholder farmer in Zambezia, the agricultural season is a race against time. Without early access to quality seeds and fertilizer, planting is delayed, leading to smaller harvests. By ensuring farmers have the tools they need at the start of the season, we help prevent the lean period where food runs out and children suffer most. Learn more about the lean season.
Maputo Bridge Capital's Approach
Founded by Anselmo Boaventura in Fort Worth, Texas, MBC connects sponsors with verified smallholder farmers in Mozambique, specifically working with the COJAZ cooperative in Zambezia. We address the root cause of hunger by providing capital for agricultural inputs:
- Sponsors give from $25 to support a farmer's season.
- Funds go directly to the farmer's local seed and fertilizer shop.
- Sponsors receive documentation including field photos and receipts.
- 92% of contributions go to the local shop; 8% covers verification and documentation.
- After harvest, farmers repay into a Community Fund to help the next farmer.
Frequently asked questions
What is wasting in children? Wasting is the most severe form of malnutrition where the body consumes its own muscle tissue due to a lack of nutrients.
Why does malnutrition impact cognitive development? Nutritional deficiencies during the critical first 1,000 days of a child's life can permanently hinder cognitive capacity.
Does Mozambique lack agricultural land? No, Mozambique has 36 million hectares of arable land, but farmers lack the capital and infrastructure to maximize production.
Get Involved
Sponsorships are gifts, not investments, and are not tax-deductible. You can directly impact a family's future by sponsoring a farmer today. Sponsor a farmer from $25 at our portal.