Mozambique has faced numerous challenges since it became independent from Portugal in 1975, including severe drought, civil war and the world’s fifth highest HIV infection rate. Mozambique has seen its economy improve since the mid-1990s; however, more than half the population remains below the poverty line, mostly relying on subsistence agriculture for their food and livelihoods. According to a 2014 estimate, 1.5 million people, or more than 10 percent of the adult population, are living with HIV and AIDS. The country also has high infant mortality rates, with 70 deaths per 1,000 live births, and nearly 90 percent of people living in rural areas lack improved sanitation facilities. Slightly more than a third of rural residents have a clean drinking-water source. This leaves children particularly vulnerable to serious disease, including diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, malaria and dengue fever.
ChildFund has served children in Mozambique since 2005. Help make a difference and sponsor a child in Mozambique today.
Ages 0-5: Healthy and Secure
To help give infants in Mozambique a fighting chance at life, ChildFund and our local partners help mothers gain access to pre- and postnatal care, as well as training about good nutrition and other needs. We also support clinics that closely monitor child growth and provide immunizations. Because pregnant women and children under the age of 5 are at greatest risk for malaria, community health volunteers work to raise awareness about preventing the disease, and also distribute medicine-treated bed nets to protect children and families from malaria-carrying mosquitoes. ChildFund has a partnership with Mozambique’s health department that allows doctors, nurses and other medical personnel move from clinic to clinic, providing vaccinations and giving children checkups.
Since 2013, ChildFund has worked to make sure that children are registered at birth, which helps them enroll in school later and receive other benefits like health care.
Ages 6-14: Educated and Confident
Mozambique’s children stay in school an average of nine years, meaning that boys and girls are typically 14 or 15 when they leave school, and only 59 percent of the population ages 15 and older can read and write. ChildFund is working to help children stay in school longer and become prepared for well-paid careers later.
ChildFund also works with parent-teacher councils to demonstrate the value of education, and we’ve helped build schools and provided desks, chairs, blackboards, textbooks, athletic equipment and other essentials for students.
To address issues like child labor, AIDS, poor nutrition and child protection, we’ve provided training to community members in the Gondola district’s Community Child Protection committees. They’ve since carried out mobilization campaigns to get thousands of children vaccinated and dewormed.
Ages 15-24: Skilled and Involved
Teens and young adults have a difficult time finding work in Mozambique. According to a 2012 report, 39 percent of youth ages 15-24 are unemployed, and many women become mothers by the time they’re 18.
ChildFund works with youth to ensure they have the market and life skills they need to make a successful transition into the work force. In one program, we train youth as trainers themselves, and they impart their knowledge to other young people. When provided with training and materials for producing mats, carpets and baskets, they are equipped for employment or to create their own small businesses. Other youth are learning about honey production and sales, helping them earn good livings.
We also support Village Savings and Loans groups, made up of about 15 to 25 people in a community. Members regularly put deposits into a communal fund, and they are allowed to borrow money periodically to support their businesses. In recent years, some groups have begun investing in early childhood development programs that benefit their children.
