Mozambique’s Ministry of Health (MISAU) on Monday, 3 August, demanded that cooperation partners more closely align their spending with the priorities of the national health sector, warning that significant resources are being directed towards secondary activities while essential supplies remain critically short in health facilities across the country.
Health Minister Ussene Isse argued that resources made available by cooperation partners must first respond to the needs of patients, citing shortages of medicines, gloves, wound dressings, and other consumables indispensable to hospital operations as among the sector’s most pressing problems.
According to the minister, health authorities have struggled to secure support for areas deemed urgent, while a portion of available resources continues to flow towards seminars, conferences, and exchange visits that, in his view, produce no direct impact on the delivery of healthcare.
The remarks were made during the 2026 Biannual Health Sector Review (RBSS), a forum that brings together the government and cooperation partners to assess progress, discuss key challenges, and define priorities for strengthening the national health system.
Ussene Isse said that Mozambican citizens do not demand much from the health system, but expect to find functional facilities, available professionals, dignified treatment, and care delivered with ethics, humanity, and respect. “When we change our plans and place the focus on meetings, training sessions, conferences, and seminars, there are no results,” he said.
For the minister, the performance of health authorities should not be measured by the number of gatherings held at venues such as Macaneta, Ponta do Ouro, or Bilene, but by the capacity to guarantee effective health services to the population. “The country does not have resources — that is the problem. Healthcare must be centred on patients, on people, and not on professionals who spend their time moving from one meeting to the next,” he declared.
The minister also revealed that during visits to health facilities in some districts, authorities have found doctors and nurses absent for extended periods, leaving communities without assistance when they seek care. Despite his criticism, he clarified that the government is not opposed to meetings or seminars as such, but is calling for a paradigm shift and a sharper focus on applying resources where they are most needed.
“Sometimes we have stock shortages — we have no gloves, no wound dressings — but when we approach a partner and say we need help to purchase gloves, dressings, and medicines, that is not considered a priority. Then suddenly a proposal emerges for four, five, six, or seven million meticais for a training session in Macaneta, Ponta do Ouro, or Bilene, and I, as Health Minister, do not authorise it,” Ussene Isse said.
The minister reiterated that the priority must be the citizen waiting for medicines and medical assistance at health facilities. “We are not pursuing or fighting anyone, but we want alignment with what the priorities of our country are. Our mission is to strengthen lives in hospitals,” he said.
The 2026 RBSS was attended by a range of cooperation partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations agencies, UNICEF, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Bank, the United States Government (USG) Troika, the Global Fund, and diplomatic representatives.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/08/04/desenvolvimento-2/misau-quer-parceiros-alinhados-com-as-prioridades-do-sector-da-saude/
