May 12, 2021 – The United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), officially handed over five (5) state-of-the-art X-ray machines for advanced tuberculosis (TB) screening and diagnosis to the Ministry of Health. The donation includes digital radiology systems, which will be placed in health facilities in Mandimba, Niassa; Angoche, Nampula; Maputo City; Beira, Sofala; and Alto Molócue, Zambézia. In addition to screening for and helping to diagnose tuberculosis, these machines can also be used to evaluate patients that may have COVID-19, other pulmonary infections, and to help evaluate patients that had trauma, thereby increasing the overall capacity of the Mozambican healthcare system.
The United States Government is committed to partnering with Mozambique to end TB, and will invest $18 million dollars towards the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of TB in Mozambique in 2021. “The key to ending tuberculosis in Mozambique and around the world is both clinical and social,” said USAID Deputy Director Martin McLaughlin. “Working together, we can ensure that healthcare systems are advanced enough to detect all forms of TB, and together we can support economic development that will eradicate the conditions that allow TB to spread.”
Mozambique continues to make significant progress in reducing tuberculosis infections. In October 2020, the Ministry of Health (MISAU) released its first national TB prevalence survey showing a 35% decrease in prevalence rates from earlier estimates. Of the approximately 110,000 new cases of TB each year, healthcare workers are diagnosing 87% of them, which is very close to the global target set by the World Health Organization. Of those diagnosed and treated for TB in Mozambique, over 90% have successful treatment outcomes.
As TB is the fifth leading cause of death in Mozambique, and the leading cause of death for people living with HIV, TB prevention and treatment remains a critical component of U.S. government health assistance. In close collaboration with the Government of Mozambique, the U.S. Government provides more than $500 million in annual assistance to improve the quality of education and healthcare, promote economic prosperity, and support the overall development of the nation.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) leads the U.S. Government’s international development and disaster assistance through partnerships and investments that save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance, and help people emerge from humanitarian crises. For more information about USAID work to foster sustainable development and advance human dignity visit www.usaid.gov.
For more information about this press release, please contact the U.S. Embassy Maputo Press Office at MaputoPress@state.gov.
