United States willing to support humanitarian and health projects in Mozambique

Maputo, 20 Feb (AIM) – The United States government has expressed its willingness to continue supporting humanitarian projects under way in Mozambique, including the assistance aimed at fighting against HIV/AIDS.

According to US Ambassador to Mozambique, Peter Vrooman – who was speaking to reporters on Wednesday, in Maputo, after he was granted an audience by Mozambican President, Daniel Chapo – the US is open to continue working with Mozambique, despite the challenges that the country has been facing.

The ambassador pledged that support from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will continue.

This is the first time that the commitment aimed at continuing to support projects against HIV/AIDS has been openly expressed, despite President Donald Trump’s decision to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID, which could affect the functioning of Mozambique’s health system.

“We have exemptions on some projects that save lives, that is, PEPFAR projects, the supply of antiretroviral drugs, but also logistics for the health sector and we are going to continue our programmes to save the lives of the two million Mozambicans who have HIV”, he said.

According to Vrooman, the US government has humanitarian assistance programmes in Mozambique, so “these will continue as well, and we work with partners here, with the Mozambican government, the private sector and also NGOs to safeguard the humanitarian assistance programmes.”

Over the past 20 years, PEPFAR has invested over 5.2 billion dollars in the response to HIV/AIDS in Mozambique.

By September 2023, around 2.5 million People Living with HIV (PLHIV) were receiving treatment, enabling them to continue living normally, a figure that represents 85 percent of the 2.5 million PLHIV in the country.

In Mozambique, PEPFAR supports a variety of services through clinical and community implementing partners, including tuberculosis treatment for adults and children, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, psychosocial support, and laboratory services.
(AIM)
Ad/pf