Odd Mozambique note

Do not understand why a country would have on it’s currency this depressing sculpture. Can anyone explain it?

N#213343

Our description of the obverse is “Hungry people”.  The note was issued in the late 80s, the closing years of the interminable Mozambique Civil War.

Is it really a mystery to you why a post-colonial African nation chose to depict hunger, or does it just make you uncomfortable to think about?

It just seems odd on a banknote. I would think a banknote to be a place to put something positive. A great leader or maybe a dominant animal of the region.