Mozambique

Health and HIV

Despite the initiatives the Government of Mozambique has taken to combat the health issues, half of the country’s population still lives below the poverty line and lacks access to health care, HIV testing and treatment, and reproductive health services. In this context, there are an estimated 1.8 million orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) who are made vulnerable due to their lack of access to quality education, healthcare, food, shelter, psychosocial support, and exposure to child labor, human trafficking, sexual abuse and exploitation, and violence.

We work to increase OVC access to primary health care, improve OVC access to HIV counseling, testing, and treatment, increase access to youth-friendly reproductive health services, and increase the uptake of and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). We also work to enhance community-based case management in Mozambique by strengthening the cadres of community-based volunteers. We also help coordinate care, protection and support services for OVC households across government, NGO, and implementing partners in the country.

Livelihoods

Recognizing the extent to which poverty impacts vulnerability, economic strengthening is a key driver in our programs in Mozambique. Through the FCC Project, we are strengthening the resilience of adolescent girls and young mothers through layered economic strengthening support, which includes Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) and Youth Economic Strengthening (YES) Clubs, which link directly to the HIV clinical cascade by addressing the specific needs of vulnerable, out-of-school youth.

Our VSLA groups support more than 8,600 caregivers of vulnerable children and AGYW, and 1,583 youth are enrolled in YES clubs. Our project data shows that the young women in these clubs are immediately applying their new knowledge and skills to positively impact their lives, by improving on their savings, establishing or expanding income-generating activities, and contributing to household expenses. These skills and contributions are having a positive ripple effect as young women report gains in respect and inclusion in family decision-making. The VSLA and YES club models have become powerful platforms to layer on additional services, including HIV prevention and sensitization, HIV and gender-based violence screening and referrals, adherence support, home gardening and nutrition education, entrepreneurship and job readiness, parenting education, psycho-social support, and life skills.  

Education

We work to mobilize communities to support and reintegrate vulnerable children and adolescents into the formal school system. We engage caregivers, school council members, school authorities, district, and provincial education and social action officials, as well as our local implementing partners and the community care workers they support in activities to identify, advocate for and support orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in their communities. We have trained 1,054 school personnel on OVC care and support.

We provide school block grants to of 100 schools in four provinces to allow them to further improve their school environment, and we offer direct education support, including subsidies to vulnerable children and adolescent girls and young women who are at risk of dropping out of school or who have been reintegrated into school.

We also have supported the creation of 142 School-based Child Rights Clubs (CRCs) for children ages 10-14 which create a safe place where children can speak out and take action to build children’s awareness of their rights and responsibilities and gain knowledge and skills to help them make healthy and informed choices. Our development of community-based Girls Empowerment Clubs (GECs) for adolescent girls and young women ages 15-24 also equip adolescent girls and young women with information on HIV prevention, reproductive health, leadership and life skills. In two years, our education services have reached over 56,800 boys and girls across all 15 districts where we work in Mozambique.

Social Protection

We support ongoing Government efforts to enhance the coordination care, protection, and support services for OVC households. Through systems strengthening and capacity building of existing structures, we aim to bolster an HIV sensitive, community-based case management system that integrates health and social protection services.

To support the development of community structures and build their capacity to support vulnerable children and their families, we have recruited and trained over 1,000 Community Case Care Workers to proactively identify and assess children, support the development, implementation and monitoring of individual support or care plans, and refer or link them to needed services from prevention to rehabilitation. Our efforts are in line with and support the Government’s national strategy to reduce poverty and vulnerability to build an effective social security system that includes a “comprehensive approach for the social protection of the poorest groups.”

Systems Strengthening

We strengthen the capacity of local government structures, local partners, and community-based social welfare cadres to support the Government’s national strategy, and are working closely with the Government of Mozambique to build and implement a national integrated case management system that provides and coordinates care and support to children and families.

We work closely with district and provincial level government to strengthen community-based referral pathways and community case management systems, which provide critical child and social protection services. We are supporting the government of Mozambique in expanding the number of trained community cadres to support this locally driven referral system across 15 districts and four provinces.

Adolescent Girls and Youth

We reach adolescent girls and young women through a holistic package of mentoring, life skills, health and education support in order to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS and promote household resiliency and support the retention of vulnerable youth in primary and secondary school. As a community partner of the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-Free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) Initiative, we are implementing key interventions to reach 27,000 adolescent girls and young women in six districts in three provinces (Gaza, Sofala, and Zambezia).

Our programs in Mozambique layer HIV prevention, social asset building, and demand creation for services onto existing interventions including youth savings groups, mentoring groups, and child rights clubs. We have set up an innovative Mobile One-Stop Service Delivery program to reach people in their communities, which provides health services including HIV counseling and testing, nutrition services, and gender-based violence services–as well as referrals to the case management system.