Maputo, 22 Apr (AIM) – The United States embassy in Maputo on Monday announced the launch of the “Catalyze project”, described as a community-led monitoring programme that will support HIV and Tuberculosis response efforts in the northern province of Nampula.
The project, funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will be implemented over the next five years by the NGO ADPP-Mozambique in collaboration with the provincial health authorities of Nampula.
According to a release from the US embassy, the project “will start working in 19 health facilities located in Nampula City and in Meconta and Rapale districts, impacting more than 60,000 people living with HIV”.
“The Catalyze project will improve the quality of HIV and TB services,” said Emanuel Pereira, Associate Director of Communication and Community Engagement at CDC, during the project’s launch ceremony, which took place on April 16 in Nampula city.
“It will promote equity in access to health, especially among the groups most vulnerable to these epidemics,” he said.
“The Government of Mozambique believes this project is essential for improving the health of our communities. We must ensure that this investment reduces new HIV and TB cases, treatment dropout, and strengthens adherence to health services”, said the Nampula provincial health director, Fernando Mitano, cited in the release.
According to the embassy, “Through Catalyze, community-based organizations (CBOs) will implement community-led monitoring (CLM) programs to help identify barriers to accessibility, acceptability, and appropriateness related to providing HIV and TB services”.
“The project’s implementation in close collaboration with the Civil Society Platform for Health—PLASOC-M, will use monitoring tools and indicators prioritized by their constituencies of people living with HIV and key populations to improve the quality of HIV and TB services”, the release continued. “The initiative will promote the institutional and technical development of CBOs, improving their capacity to intervene in community health programmes”.
(AIM)
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