On Friday, June 5, Health Minister Ussene Isse praised the role of the Heart Institute (ICOR) in strengthening the National Health System (SNS), highlighting the institution’s humanitarian impact over the past 25 years, particularly in treating children with heart disease who cannot afford the costs of surgical procedures.
Speaking at the ceremony marking ICOR’s 25th anniversary, the minister acknowledged the institution’s contribution to expanding access to specialized cardiac care in Mozambique, noting that thousands of lives have been saved thanks to surgeries performed in the country.
“Many children in this country have benefited from these procedures. More than three thousand open-heart surgeries have already been performed, many of them on underprivileged children who could not afford them. Imagine the cost of such an operation in the United States or Europe. Today, we perform them here, in our own country,” stated Isse.
On that occasion, the minister noted that cardiovascular diseases continue to pose a growing challenge to health systems, at a time when the country is undergoing a demographic and epidemiological transition marked by an increase in noncommunicable diseases, such as hypertension.
“We are dealing with silent diseases. High blood pressure remains a cause for concern, and often people only become aware of it once complications have already set in,” he warned, calling for a greater focus on prevention and primary health care.
The minister also reiterated the government’s commitment to continue collaborating with strategic partners to strengthen the National Health Service’s response capacity, noting that President Daniel Chapo’s guidance calls for the mobilization of resources and partnerships to improve services provided to citizens.
“Our presence here demonstrates the government’s commitment. We have a clear directive from the President of the Republic: to work in partnership, mobilize resources, and ensure better healthcare for Mozambicans,” he stated.
According to Ussene Isse, the sector’s sustainability depends on transferring skills to Mozambican professionals, avoiding exclusive reliance on foreign medical missions. “We often see projects that arrive, shine, and when they leave, everything collapses. Here we see an effort toward sustainability, training, and continuity,” he noted.
The ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the Heart Institute brought together national and international experts in the field of cardiovascular medicine, researchers, and partners from the healthcare sector, in an event that also served to highlight the institution’s achievements in the treatment of heart disease, medical research, and technical training in the country.
Source: Diário Económico
