Nine Months after Cyclone-Idai, Mozambique is building health system preparedness with support from Health Alliance International & the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
Beira, Mozambique: Today—exactly nine months since Cyclone Idai hit Central Mozambique—Health Alliance International announced the launch of Project SPEED. This $150,000 grant from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s Global Recovery Fund aims to respond to medium- and long-term recovery priorities of Mozambique’s health system. Project SPEED (Strengthening Provincial-level Epidemiological Expertise for Disaster response) will focus on building outbreak surveillance expertise in the most cyclone-vulnerable region of Mozambique while strengthening the infrastructure and medical resources of locally prioritized hospitals and clinics. Health Alliance International worked closely with local health authorities from the National Institute of Health and Provincial Health Directorate to identify activities that would build resiliency and readiness within the public sector health system.
“HAI has been working in partnership with Mozambique’s National Health Service for more than three decades, so when the cyclone hit we knew immediately that we would be involved in the response for the long term.”
-James Pfeiffer, Executive Director, Health Alliance International
Cyclone Idai caused substantial damage to an estimated 240,000 homes and 94 provincial health units in Mozambique alone. Massive displacement, food insecurity, and health care service disruption led to a substantial spike in epidemic-prone diseases such as measles, cholera, malaria, and dengue. Project SPEED will strengthen outbreak surveillance capacity via the Beira Operations Research Center (CIOB), a center of Mozambique’s National Institute of Public Health, so the ability to identify and respond to future outbreaks is embedded in the local system.
“By strengthening CIOB's epidemiological surveillance experience and capacity, the SPEED Project will help ensure that Sofala Province […] and the surrounding region is ready to monitor and respond to any threats to the health of our population.”
- João Manuel, Director, Beira Operations Research Center (CIOB)
Health Alliance International is Seattle-based global health nonprofit and a Center of the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington. HAI designs, implements, and evaluates programs that strengthen public sector health systems in partnership with the Ministries of Health of Mozambique, Côte d’Ivoire, and Timor-Leste. In the 9 months since Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique, HAI has helped coordinate the importation and distribution of prioritized medicines, medical supplies, and equipment through the Provincial Health System and rehabilitate two public clinics.