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MENTAL HEALTH IN WAR, DISPLACEMENT AND MIGRATION_ Mozambique

Mozambique

Lucas Matagodi visits MSF's mobile clinic in Lyanda camp for the first time, seeking psychological assistance. Mozambique, May 2023.
© Nuria Lopez Torres
In Mozambique we are responding to emergencies including disease outbreaks, providing care to people with advanced HIV, while also working in the conflict-ridden Cabo-Delgado province.

In Beira, we offer sexual and reproductive health services, including HIV testing and treatment, for sex workers and men who have sex with men. In Nampula, MSF teams provide preventive measures and treatment for selected vector-borne, water-borne and neglected tropical diseases under a Planetary Health lens.

Meanwhile, a slow burning conflict in Cabo Delgado province, in the country’s northeast, continued through 2022, with hundreds of thousands of people attacked and left homeless or displaced. In support, we provide medical and mental health care, and support health and cholera treatment centres through mobile clinics. In addition, our teams provide water and sanitation support as well as relief items such as hygiene and cooking items for those in displaced people’s camps.

Our activities in 2024 in Mozambique

Data and information from the International Activity Report 2024.

MSF in Mozambique in 2024 Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been working in Mozambique for 40 years, filling crucial healthcare gaps, such as in treatment for HIV, and assisting people affected by conflict and natural hazards.
Mozambique IAR map 2024
Country map for the IAR 2024.
© MSF

In Cabo Delgado province, where about 580,000 people remained displaced due to ongoing conflict and unrest,[1] our teams continued to provide healthcare through community-based activities and support to health facilities in the districts of Palma, Mocímboa da Praia, Macomia, Mueda, Muidumbe, and Nangade. 

In May, Macomia was attacked by an armed group; MSF’s warehouse was looted, and our cars stolen. This attack and the increased insecurity forced us to suspend our work in Macomia town, temporarily cease running our mobile clinics and outreach activities in the district, and reduce some services in other areas of Cabo Delgado.  

In December, we launched an emergency response in the Mecúfi and Nanlia districts of northern Mozambique, following the devastation caused by Cyclone Chido, which affected over 680,000 people. Our response focused on providing lifesaving emergency healthcare, mental health support, rehabilitating damaged health facilities, and restoring essential water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

In Nampula province, MSF teams diagnosed and treated neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) at rural health centres, and provided blood transfusions for people suffering from severe malaria. In November, we launched a surgery campaign in Nametil to assist patients with hydrocele, a complication of filariasis, an NTD which causes an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the testicles. We performed surgical activities during the first weeks of the month; however, we had to suspend all activities in Nametil by the end of November due to escalating security incidents.

In Sofala province, our team in Beira worked with the Ministry of Health and local organisations to deliver sexual and reproductive healthcare, including safe abortion care for vulnerable and stigmatised groups, treatment for people with advanced HIV, and support for addressing antimicrobial resistance.

 

[1] IMDC- https://www.internal-displacement.org/expert-analysis/7-years-into-the-conflict-solutions-to-displacement-in-cabo-delgado-remain-elusive/

 

in 2024