Mozambique: Education Minister calls for strategies to prevent mpox spread in schools

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Mozambique: Education Minister calls for strategies to prevent mpox spread in schools

12:06 CAT | 08 Aug 2025

FILE - “It is urgent to create better sanitary conditions to keep all students in a safe and disease-free school environment. We are organizing resources to reinforce precisely hand washing and sanitation in schools. That’s the key, since we all know that mpox is a communicable disease”, Minister Tovela said. [File photo: UNICE MoçambiqueF]

Mozambican Education Minister Samaria Tovela has called for strategies aimed at improving sanitary conditions in public schools in order to avoid the spread of the disease mpox (formerly known as monkey pox), at a moment when the country has 33 confirmed cases of the disease

According to the minister – who was speaking to reporters on Thursday after an audience granted by Fernando Jone, second Deputy President of the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, the Education Ministry is organizing all necessary resources to set up hand sanitizing stations for students in schools in order to respond to the mpox outbreak.

“It is urgent to create better sanitary conditions to keep all students in a safe and disease-free school environment. We are organizing resources to reinforce precisely hand washing and sanitation in schools. That’s the key, since we all know that mpox is a communicable disease”, she said.

“We need to keep our children in a healthier and more hygienic environment. We already have the hygiene experience gained during the COVID-19 pandemic”, she added.

Tovela also said that that the essential approach to preventing mpox among citizens, especially students, is to educate them and keep places as healthy as possible.

READ: Mozambique: Thousands of classes study outdoors, sitting on ground – Minister

“We are working closely with the health sector to prevent the worst, although vaccines against mpox are not available yet. The essential thing is that we work to prevent the disease from spreading throughout our country”, she said.

Of the 33 confirmed cases nationwide, 28 (84.8 percent) are in Niassa province, two in Manica province, and three in Maputo province. These two new cases in Maputo province were confirmed over the last 24 hours.

To date, 89 suspected cases are under surveillance, and no deaths have been recorded. Currently, 20 patients remain under clinical monitoring, while 13 have already been declared recovered.

Source: AIM