Vanderbilt Projects in Mozambique

PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) in Mozambique - CDC-GAP

Project Scope

Through its affiliate Friends in Global Health (FIGH) Vanderbilt University’s Institute for Global Health (VIGH) has received PEPFAR funds to support HIV care and treatment programs in rural districts of Zambézia Province, an environment with extremely limited resources and medical staff/facilities. Clinics in the districts of Ilé, Alto Molòcué, Namacurra, Inhassunge, Gile and Lugela are currently supported. The FIGH staff employs a holistic approach in the development of a comprehensive model for rural healthcare and treatment that integrates health and social services, addresses human resource and infrastructure constraints, and develops a sustainable health care system. 

The initiative undertakes to develop, establish and roll-out effective and sustainable anti-retroviral treatment (ART) programs in conjunction with provincial and district health authorities in Zambézia Province. The FIGH medical team in Mozambique consists of physicians specializing in family practice and pediatrics, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, community out-reach coordinators and educators, all of whom have a background in infectious diseases, HIV care and treatment and ART program development and implementation.

Project Environment

Zambézia is one of Mozambique’s most populous provinces with over 4 million inhabitants and an estimated HIV prevalence of over 20%.  A large proportion of Mozambique’s population is not only very poor (Mozambique ranks 168 of 177 in the 2005 human development index), but also has limited access to health care. The country has one of the worst healthcare-worker to population ratios in the word, and approximately 40% walk more than 20 km to reach a primary care facility. In rural settings such as Zambézia, only approximately 4% of those needing ART treatment are currently enrolled.

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