In 2021, clashes between non-state armed groups and government forces intensified in Cabo Delgado province. Following a major attack on one of the main towns, Palma, in March, we expanded our activities to deliver care to the thousands of people who had fled their homes or had been cut off from health services in hard-to-reach areas such as Mueda, Macomia, Nangade and Mocimboa da Praia. We conducted general and mental health consultations, and sent mobile teams to support health and cholera treatment centres. We also provided water and sanitation support, and distributed relief items and emergency food rations to people in transit or resettlement camps, as well as host communities, where hundreds of thousands of people remained displaced.   

In Beira, MSF runs a programme offering sexual and reproductive healthcare, including termination of pregnancy and HIV testing and treatment, to vulnerable adolescents and stigmatised groups, such as sex workers and men who have sex with men. In addition, we provide care for patients with advanced HIV at healthcare facilities in the city. When cyclone Eloise hit central Mozambique in January, we supported the Ministry of Health’s response. 

In Maputo, we handed over our drop-in centre and related activities for people who use drugs to local health authorities and partner organisations. Set up in 2017, activities included testing and referrals for HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis C, needle/syringe distribution, opioid substitution therapy and overdose treatment. As well as providing treatment and protection from harm for service users, these interventions are key in preventing the spread of HIV, hepatitis C and other bloodborne diseases. 

To assist the national response to COVID-19, we provided logistical and technical support to the main COVID-19 referral hospitals in Maputo, and helped with follow-up of HIV patients with COVID-19 in Beira.