For the first time in its history, Mozambique has public health laboratories in every province of the country. The achievement was announced this Wednesday by the Minister of Health, Ussene Isse, at the opening of the annual meeting of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI), taking place in Maputo with the participation of about 200 representatives from 60 countries.
“Over the past four years, Mozambique has expanded the geographical representation of the national health institutes (...), we have established public health laboratories in every province of our country, the last of which will be inaugurated at the end of this month in Gaza province,” said Ussene Isse.
At a meeting marked by deep reflection on the challenges of global public health, Isse highlighted the growing role of Mozambique's National Institute of Health (INS) in the African context, stressing that the country aims to make its institute a model of excellence to be replicated in the region.
Recognition has already begun to arrive. According to the minister, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) recently designated Mozambique's INS as one of the continent's centres of excellence.
“We want Mozambique's INS to be a model to be applied in the region and in the world (...). As a result of these efforts, Africa CDC recently chose our institute as one of the centres of excellence for the African continent,” he stressed.
Isse recalled that national public health institutes are essential pillars for tackling current and future health threats, especially in a world increasingly affected by factors such as climate change, population growth, armed conflict, disruptive technologies and cuts in global health funding.
“You are the key to helping find resilient and constructive solutions to overcome this situation,” he declared, addressing the representatives of the countries attending the meeting.
The “Maputo Declaration”, which will result from this meeting, aims to reaffirm the commitment to healthier and more resilient societies. In his speech, Isse called for reforms to global health agendas that put science at the heart of public policy and strengthen national systems, especially in the most vulnerable countries.
“Low-income countries are the most affected by these factors, but they are also the least prepared and have the most fragile health systems,” he acknowledged.
During the meeting, scientific evidence on diseases with pandemic potential will be discussed. The National Institute of Health highlighted the H5N1 virus as one of the biggest threats on the horizon, stressing the world population's low immunity to this pathogen.
