Maputo, 18 Apr (AIM) – Mozambican Finance Minister Carla Louveira has recognised that health care will be the sector most affected by the suspension of foreign aid by the United States under the Trump administration.
Nonetheless, cited by the independent newsheet “Mediafax”, she declared that the Mozambican government is willing to deepen still further what are still called “links of cooperation and friendship” with the United States through partnerships in various areas.
Louveira gave this optimistic take on Mozambique-US relations during an audience she granted on Tuesday to US ambassador Peter Vrooman. She stressed that the American government has been the main cooperation partner of the Mozambican national health system, particularly through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
But the Trump administration has all but demolished USAID, and Louveira expressed concern at the suspension of US funding for health programmes, particularly in the area of HIV/AIDS, endangering HIV tests and counselling, the treatment of HIV and tuberculosis, and the prevention of the transmission of HIV from pregnant women to their unborn children.
The suspension of American aid, Louveira warned, presents a significant challenge for the health sector, directly affecting the provision of essential health services and the sustainability of priority and strategic programmes.
Suspension of the US aid threatens the lives of millions of Mozambicans, particularly because it is not known how long the suspension will last, bearing in mind that there are no resources in the 2025 Mozambican state budget to cope with the suspension, lamented Louveira.
Vrooman, however, guaranteed that US assistance through PEPFAR will continue, thus ensuring ongoing prevention of HIV infections, including mother-to-child HIV transmission.
(AIM)
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