Mozambique is among the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that will benefit from $9.5 million in financing approved by the Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional arm of the African Development Bank (AfDB), aimed at strengthening health security and emergency response capacity across the region.
The decision was taken on March 3, 2026, and will fund the project “Resilient Health Systems for Emergency Preparedness,” an initiative designed to strengthen the resilience and response capacity of Southern Africa’s health systems in the face of public health emergencies and nutrition crises.
Under the project, the Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INS) of Mozambique will be modernised and upgraded to serve as a regional reference laboratory, enhancing diagnostic capacity and epidemiological surveillance across the region.
The initiative also includes the rehabilitation and equipping of diagnostic laboratories, environmental monitoring laboratories, and wastewater surveillance facilities in six beneficiary countries, as part of a regional effort to improve early detection and control of disease outbreaks.
The programme further features a strong technical capacity-building component. In total, 449 laboratory technicians, community health workers and trainers will receive specialised training, including 269 women, incorporating approaches that include gender perspectives, climate adaptation and the One Health concept, which promotes an integrated approach between human, animal and environmental health.
Additionally, around 35 nutrition coordinators, including 21 women, from specialised training institutions focused on nutrition and gender in emergency contexts, are expected to obtain certification. The revised curricula are expected to benefit approximately 240 students per year, helping build a sustainable regional pool of specialists in the management of nutrition and health emergencies.
The project also foresees the creation of cross-border model laboratories, including the installation of a mobile laboratory at two strategic border points between Mozambique and Zimbabwe, aimed at strengthening health surveillance and the rapid response capacity to potential outbreaks.
According to Kennedy Mbekeani, Director General of the African Development Bank for Southern Africa, the initiative seeks to address the persistent weaknesses of health systems in the region.
“This operation aims to tackle the persistent fragility of SADC health systems, which remain vulnerable to zoonotic outbreaks and cholera epidemics, high rates of malnutrition, as well as shortages of human resources and insufficient emergency preparedness,” he said.
Source: Diário Económico
