SDG Visit to Mozambique

As SDG advocate for the United Nations, Queen Mathilde made a 4-day visit to Mozambique.
On the program: field visits to witness good practices that change the life of local communities, projects that benefit the economic empowerment of women, quality education for girls, and health & mental health care.

Monday 4 February 2019

Mathilde flew from Brussels to Lisbon, and from there straight to Maputo, Mozambique where she arrived after a 16 hour flight. She was welcomed by Didier Vanderhasselt, Belgian ambassador to the region.

Mathilde's first meeting was with the Mozambique Minister of Finance and Economy, Mr Adriano Malelane.

🇲🇿 De Mozambikaanse minister van Financiën en Economie heeft zijn tolk bij (de vrouw in het midden), om de uitleg van koningin Mathilde te vertalen uit het Frans. Portugees is de officiële taal in deze voormalige Portugese kolonie. “Maar als u traag praat, kan ik u verstaan.” pic.twitter.com/AB29TPatvU

— [Wim Dehandschutter] (@WDehandschutter) February 4, 2019

She also met the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Affairs, Mrs Cidália Chaúque Oliveira.

Mathilde changed into another outfit to meet the volunteers who work at "Horizonte Azul", a joint UN & WOMEN project that fights violence against women & girls in Maputo.

She was welcomed by an incredible warrior dance performed by both girls and boys. Traditionally it's only reserved for boys. Video: https://publish.twitter.com/?query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FWDehandschutter%2Fstatus%2F1092463268508110850&widget=Tweet

A girl acted out a powerful rape scene, being blamed and being expelled from her community.

🇲🇿 Koningin Mathilde heeft al zo vaak kinderen dansen of toneeltjes zien opvoeren. Maar deze choreografie in Mozambique is confronterend. Een meisje wordt verkracht en roept vergeefs om hulp. Ze krijgt daarna de schuld (“ze zal het wel hebben uitgelokt”) en wordt verstoten. pic.twitter.com/heWGwRBqvD

— [Wim Dehandschutter] (@WDehandschutter) 4 februari 2019

The day ended with an official dinner hosted by the governor of the province of Gaza. On arrival in Bilene the queen received a traditional capulana.

During her stay in Mozambique, Queen Mathilde was lodged at the 5 star Polana Hotel in Maputo. It raised the Belgian flag for the occasion.

Tuesday 5 February 2019

Queen Mathilde started the day by visiting a clean water project in Dzinzine, supported by Belgian funds and implemented by Enabel, the Belgian federal development agency. Women no longer have to walk for miles each day to get water, but instead have drinking water in their homes. By using solar panels, the water is desalinized.

At Chinhacanine the queen visited a UNWOMEN project that stimulates women to play an active role in their rural communities, which secures them with a stable income.

In Chokwè Mathilde was shown the district hospital.

 Meeting with survivors of gender based violence.

Queen of Belgium asks #Mozambique child marriage survivor what she dreams of. Angelica: "a world where no girl has to go through what I did," and then the tears flow down her face and cloud everyone else's eyes. Sustainable development starts by addressing rights/inequalities. pic.twitter.com/mIhnsp8hNx

— Andrea M. Wojnar (@DiagneAndrea) February 5, 2019

In the evening, Mathilde had dinner with representatives of UNFPA Moçambique, Enabel, FAO Mozambique, Women's Rights organisations and local dignitaries. They discussed the opportunities and challenges in local health care, nutrition, education and climate change.

Wednesday 6 February 2019

Queen Mathilde met the President of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi.

At the University of Maputo she gave a speech and met with students.

At noon there was a work lunch with the first lady, Isaura Nyusi.

At the National Disaster Management Institute, Queen Mathilde was briefed on how drones and satellite mapping help to save lives in disaster prevention response.

Later in the day she visited the Habel Jafar Health Centre.

 

During the entire trip Mathilde was accompanied by her two advisors, Machteld Fostier & Bénédicte Frankinet.

Mathilde ended her visit by giving interviews on her impressions.

"Beaucoup de jeunes filles vont à l'école primaire, puis la majorité ne vont plus à l'école secondaire. C'est terminé pour une grande majorité de jeunes filles ici. Donc je pense que promouvoir l'éducation et une éducation de qualité pour les jeunes filles, est très important. Mais il faut avoir tout le monde avec nous. Ce ne sont pas seulement les jeunes filles, mais les jeunes garçons doivent être également sensibilisés à ce que les femmes aient aussi une place dans la société"

"Many young girls go to primary school, but the majority doesn't flow through to secondary school. For a large number of them it ends here. So I believe it's very important to promote good quality schooling for girls. At the same time we have to get everybody involved. Not just young girls - young boys should also be stimulated to give women a place in society."

At night, she attended a final reception organized by the Belgian ambassador and his staff. The Belgians living in Mozambique were also invited and got to meet their queen.