The US embassy in Mozambique on Monday announced the launch of a five-year programme to support maternal and child health in the country, worth $40.5 million (€34.3 million).
“In Mozambique, one in 67 women die during childbirth, three times more than the global average,” the embassy noted in a statement.
The funding, which is to come via the US Agency for International Development (USAID), aims to increase the quality of and access to reproductive health care in the provinces of Nampula, Zambézia and Sofala.
Nampula and Zambezia are the country’s most populous provinces, with a combined population of about 11 million – one third of Mozambique’s population – while Sofala is the fourth-most populous province, with around 2.5 million.
In partnership with the public health system, the five-year project is to be implemented by a consortium of local and international entities led by the US non-governmental organisation Pathfinder International.
The initiative will “train community health workers to share resources and health care options with women and couples [and] work with young adults to dispel myths” around the use of contraceptives and other forms of family planning, the statement explains.
While this project is in the field of healthcare, US aid in Mozambique overall is around $500 million per year, according to the embassy.
Lusa
