Mozambique remains one of the world's poorest countries - 172nd position in a total of 177, according to the United Nations Development Program Human Development Index { 2007/08}

Mozambique has a Gross National Income GNI per capita of $380 { World Bank }

The UK has a GNI per capita of $46,040

{ World Bank }

Situated on Africa's eastern coast, Mozambique is a country with a difficult history. Almost 500 years of Portuguese rule came to an end in 1975. With the arrival of Independence, most Portuguese residents were forced to flee, thus removing much of the skilled labour from the country.

The following year civil war commenced, and stretched on for 16 years. This ruined the economy, and much of the countryside.It brought famine and great suffering, and Mozambique became the poorest country in the world.

Peace came in 1992, and has remained, but a series of natural disasters has slowed the recovery. Droughts, flooding, cyclones, all have battered the country, making the climb out of poverty a difficult one.

PEMBA - CABO DELGADO

Lying in the north, at the far end of the 2,470 km coastline, which separates it from the capital, Maputo, the situation is more acutely difficult in this part of the country. The UN say that a child in Cabo Delgado is 3 times more likely to die before reaching 5 years of age than a child in the city of Maputo.