Most people know that sub-Saharan Africa is overburdened by the scourge of HIV/AIDS. However, what is less known but truly remarkable, is that ambitious AIDS treatment programs in countries such as Mozambique are currently being designed and scaling up public antiretroviral treatment nationwide.
Despite limited financial and human resources, the government of Mozambique has, in 2004 alone, quadrupled the number of AIDS patients receiving antiretroviral treatment. This well-formulated plan was developed with support from HAI and the Clinton Foundation between 2002 and 2003. Currently care is being provided to over 61,000 people and over 13,500 are accessing lifesaving antiretroviral treatment at 15 different sites around the country. At the field level, the vast majority of care is provided by Mozambican health professionals, while health experts from such organizations as Médecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Sant’Egidio and HAI, also provide some technical and clinical support.
Since 2003, HAI has been working within the Ministry of Health to expand the national health system capacity to achieve their ambitious AIDS care and treatment targets. This small team of HAI technical advisors is providing crucial assistance to the Clinical Medicine section of the Ministry of Health, in such areas as:
The objectives of the team are to strengthen the management and planning capacity of the Ministry of Health in order to meet the needs of the over 1,000,000 HIV+ Mozambicans.