The Mozambican Government plans to authorize the hiring of 1,294 health professionals in 2024, but only 25 are doctors, according to the budget proposal that the Assembly of the Republic will discuss and vote on next week.
According to the documents supporting the proposal for the Economic and Social Plan and State Budget (PESOE) for 2024, the Government guarantees that it will ensure “the strengthening of the effective and efficient response to health policies that guarantee the provision of health care and provision of quality services to all citizens”.
Hiring 1,294 health professionals, “of which 25 national doctors, 325 mid-level technicians, 764 health technicians, 140 orderlies and 40 ambulance drivers, to reinforce the service capacity in public hospitals”, are among the “priorities” to 2024, “in order to reduce in-hospital maternal, neonatal and infant mortality”.
On August 24, the Medical Association of Mozambique (AMM) interrupted a strike that had been ongoing since July 10, affecting the country’s entire health system, contesting salary cuts and the lack of resources in hospitals, a strike that led the Government to announce the hiring, later this year, of more doctors.
The budget proposal for 2024 is discussed and voted on in parliament on December 6th and 7th, with favorable votes expected from the majority of deputies, from the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo).
In 2024, the government proposal in the health area envisages maintaining coverage of institutional births at 91%, but increasing coverage of fully vaccinated children under five years of age by 96%, corresponding to one million vaccinated children.
“Increase notification of all forms of tuberculosis”, from 110,674 in 2022, to 118,463 in 2024, intensify screening for cervical cancer, covering 1,574,355 women over the age of 25 and “intensify” cancer screening breast cancer screening by 30%, in women over 25 years of age, and prostate cancer screening by 1%, in men over 45 years of age, corresponding to 19,324 men, are other priorities.