Mozambique: 71 tuberculosis deaths recorded in Nampula province during the first half of this year

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Mozambique: 71 tuberculosis deaths recorded in Nampula province during the first half of this year

3:54 CAT | 26 Sep 2025

FILE - For illustration purposes only. “One of the reasons for the increase in cases is the province’s poor coverage of screening for tuberculosis and treatment in communities, especially with the withdrawal of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which supported local organizations in combating the disease”, he said, cited by the independent daily “O País.” [File photo: Instituto Nacional de Saúde- INS]

The Mozambican health authorities have announced that, in the first six months of this year, tuberculosis caused the death of at least 71 people in the northern province of Nampula, a year-on-year increase of five per cent.

According to the head of the public health department at the Provincial Health Directorate of Nampula, Jaime Miguel, “if we compare it to the same period last year, we had a slight increase of five per cent, because at the same time last year, we recorded nearly 60 cases.”

“Nampula province recorded 6,935 cases of tuberculosis in the same period last year, so we call on the population to redouble prevention efforts” he said.

He explained that tuberculosis cases are most prevalent in the districts of Nampula, Mogovolas, Eráti, and Liúpo.

“One of the reasons for the increase in cases is the province’s poor coverage of screening for tuberculosis and treatment in communities, especially with the withdrawal of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which supported local organizations in combating the disease”, he said, cited by the independent daily “O País.”

“We have some communities that don’t receive activist coverage, and given our ratio of health technicians, health units, and population, some people travel kilometers to reach a health unit”, he said.

Furthermore, according to Miguel, “the fact that we are unable to track cases in the communities contributes, because the cases that arrive at health units are already serious.”

Recently, data on the disease in Mozambique was released, indicating 48,000 cases of tuberculosis in the first half of this year, with health authorities pointing to a lack of funding as one of the causes of the increase in cases.

“Mozambique continues to face a high burden of this disease, often associated with HIV, severely affecting, especially the most vulnerable populations”, said Ivan Manhiça, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health.

One day before the USAID closure announcement, on June 30th, Mozambican health authorities had received two million doses of the tuberculosis vaccine (BCG), enough for six months, for administration to infants up to 23 months old.

Source: Lusa