Controlling the HIV Epidemic in Mozambique
Highlights
- Mozambique is struggling to bring its HIV epidemic under control.
- Strengthen public health services; ensure sustainability of the HIV response.
- After one year of full implementation ECHO achieved significant improvements.
Mozambique has 12.6 percent of adults living with HIV, and one of the highest HIV mortality rates in the world. The country has made strides in testing people for HIV and providing treatment. But a high proportion of HIV-positive individuals are not receiving treatment due to systemic challenges: long distances to access health facilities, long wait times in facilities, stigma, and ineffective delivery of information about the importance of knowing their HIV status and being on treatment.
Efficiencies for Clinical HIV/AIDS Outcomes (ECHO), a $209 million, five-year USAID project, works in four provinces to support Government of Mozambique efforts to ensure 95 percent of HIV-positive individuals receive treatment and 95 percent of those on treatment are virally suppressed. ECHO will achieve this goal by providing technical assistance; deploying hundreds of health workers, community workers and data analysts to sites with poor performance; training government health workers; giving grants to community outreach organizations; and supporting government activities to strengthen crucial laboratory, transport and information systems. ECHO’s approach targets key populations experiencing unique barriers to HIV treatment, prioritizing male engagement, youth and adolescent outreach, and clinical and psychosocial support to survivors of gender-based violence.
The project, which covers 148 health facilities, achieved the following milestones as of September 2023:
- Increased the number of people living with HIV on life-saving antiretroviral treatment (ART) by 18%, from 207,753 to 417,059
- Increased one-month retention of ART patients from 58% to 97%
- Increased three-month retention of ART patients from 74% to 98%
- Increased viral suppression from 78% to 92%
- Reached 99% of TB cases with documented HIV status, with 90% linked to treatment
Learn more:
- Increasing Community and Facility HIV Testing in Mozambique
- Localization Expands and Improves HIV Treatment in Mozambique
- Multi-month Drug Distribution Improves ART Retention and Quality of Care
- Collaborative, Locally-led Campaign Reaches More Than 180,000 With Lifesaving COVID-19 Vaccines
- Motorcycles to Technical Assistance: Abt Provides Sustainable Solutions to Community Organizations in Mozambique
- Caught Between HIV+ and Climate Change: Mozambique’s Cyclone Victims Maintain Treatment Through Community Support
- Getting to 95+: Culture of Learning, Data-Use Drives Demand for HIV Services in Mozambique (Perspectives Blog)
- Mother-friendly One-Stop Model Improves Patient Experiences While Decreasing Vertical Transmission