Mozambique

Malaria prevention and control are major foreign assistance objectives of the U.S. Government (USG). In May 2009, President Barack Obama announced the Global Health Initiative (GHI), a six-year, comprehensive effort to reduce the burden of disease and promote healthy communities and families throughout the world. Through GHI, the United States will help partner countries improve health outcomes, with a particular focus on improving the health of women, newborns, and children. The President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) is a core component of the GHI, along with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. PMI was launched in June 2005 as a five-year, $1.2 billion initiative to rapidly scale up malaria prevention and treatment interventions and reduce malaria-related mortality by 50% in 15 high-burden countries in sub-Saharan Africa. With passage of the 2008 Lantos-Hyde Act, funding for PMI was extended and, as part of GHI, the goal of PMI was adjusted to reduce malaria-related mortality by 70% in the original 15 countries by the end of 2015. Programming of PMI activities follows the core principles of GHI. Mozambique was selected as a PMI country in fiscal year (FY) 2007. PMI's primary goal in Mozambique is to assist the Government of the Republic of Mozambique (GRM), in collaboration with other partners, to reduce malaria mortality by 50% by rapidly scaling up coverage of vulnerable groups with four highly effective interventions: artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), intermittent preventive treatment of pregnant women (IPTp), insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), and indoor residual spraying (IRS). Mozambique carried out a Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in calendar year 2011. While the data from this survey did show a reduction in all cause under-five mortality from 138/1000 in the 2008 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) to 97/1000 in the 2011 DHS, there were only minimal improvements in major malaria indicators compared to the 2007 Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS), highlighting the multitude of challenges the country still faces in reducing the burden of malaria. The most significant improvement from the 2007 MIS to the 2011 DHS was the increase in net coverage: the proportion of households with at least one ITN increased from 15.8% in 2007 to 51.4% in 2011. A joint MIS and National HIV/AIDS Indicator Survey (INSIDA) will take place in September 2014 and the next DHS is planned for calendar year 2016