Mozambique

Health promotion

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Situation analysis

health_promotion
Prof. Paulo Ivo Garrido H.E. the Ministry of Health mobilizing community during the celebration of Africa Malaria Day on 25 April 2007, in Zambezia

Health Promotion is the process of enabling people to increase, control and improve their health. Community involvement and participation are essential to sustain health promotion actions.

In 2001, The African Region endorsed the Health Promotion Strategy, whereby Member States are urged to develop national strategies incorporating policy frameworks and action plans to strengthen the institutional capacity for health promotion as well as provide support at various levels of the health system, as appropriate. The aim of the strategy is to foster actions that enhance the physical, social and emotional well-being of the people, and contribute to the prevention of leading causes of disease, disability and death.

Prof. Paulo Ivo Garrido H.E. the Ministry of Health mobilizing community during the celebration of Africa Malaria Day on 25 April 2007, in Zambezia.

Prof. Paulo Ivo Garrido H.E. the Ministry of Health mobilizing community during the celebration of Africa Malaria Day on 25 April 2007, in Zambezia.

The new structure of the MoH shows the high ranking given to Health Promotion by the Mozambican health authorities: there is a Health Promotion National Directorate with two Deputy National Directorates namely Health Protection, and Prevention and Disease Control.

A study conducted by the Ministry of Health (STEPS) has shown that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a matter of concern for health in Mozambique.

The country faces a lack of skilled professionals for Health Promotion, namely for strategic planning and monitoring and evaluation. Also, the unavailability of translated versions of WHO key documents in Portuguese contributes to keep a weak visibility of Health Promotion.

WHO and its partners are supporting a number of initiatives in the area of health promotion in Mozambique - Roll Back Malaria, Making Pregnancy Safer, Health Promoting School Initiatives, Road Safety - under the coordination of the Ministry of Health, jointly with other sectors of the government such as Education and Culture, Agriculture, Women and Welfare, Sports and Youth, Transport and Communications, and the Parliament. Many other actors are also part of these initiatives such as mass media (modern and traditional), civil society, national and international NGOs, religious groups, sports groups, traditional medicine practitioners, and other relevant stakeholders.

 

Challenges

  • Diseases that can be prevented - malaria, tuberculosis, respiratory infections, diarrhoea, sexual transmitted diseases, HIV infection, non-communicable diseases - are increasing sharply;
  • Young people are more and more exposed to trauma, alcohol, tobacco and substance abuse;
  • Developing and implementing a National Health Promotion Strategy;
  • Training of Health Promotion staff countrywide;
  • Improvement of coordination among partners.

Achievements & next steps

Achievements

  • Support provided to the Mozambique Association of Public Health (AMOSAPU) for the organization of two meetings for tobacco prevention and control for the Lusophone, Southern Africa and East Africa countries;
  • Strengthened partnership with mass media;
  • Support provided for the development of the health communication strategy of the National Program for Malaria Control (PNCM).

In the context of Roll Back Malaria (RBM) an Inter-Religious Campaign was established by 10 national faith leaders in Maputo, Mozambique. In 2006, these leaders requested the participation of the Washington National Cathedral and the Adventist and Development Relief Agency in moving forward with their dream of a Mozambique without Malaria.

National Campaign members include: the Roman Catholic Church, the Islamic Congress of Mozambique, the Islamic Council of Mozambique, the Anglican Church, the United Methodist Church, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, the Hindu Community, Assemblies of God, the Christian Council of Mozambique, and the Baha'i Community. The Co Chairs of the IRCMM are Bishop Dinis Sengulane and Mr Hassan Makda.

This inter-faith group is implementing the first stage of its "Together Against Malaria" program in the province of Zambezia by providing health education, training, and community mobilization through trained faith leaders. Faith communities exist in every village in the country; therefore, faith leaders can reach their members and impact their attitudes and behavior related to malaria.

Mrs. Laura Bush during the Seminar, on the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), held in Maputo in June 2007, announced the first grant to the Inter-Religious Campaign against Malaria in Mozambique. Through the President's Malaria Initiative, with a three-year, nearly $2 million grant that is expected to benefit over a million and a half people. The Adventist Development and Relief Organization provides program implementation support to the faith leaders, and Washington National Cathedral's Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation also provides support and assists with procuring additional resources for the project.

Perspectives

  • Formulation of the national Health Promotion strategy;
  • Support to the national campaign for sanitation and hygiene.