Creating a Successful Health Outreach Program in Mozambique

Health mobilizer Marianna Salvador Matavele recognized Joyce's symptoms and referred her to the clinic.

In the late 1980s, Mozambique was recovering from a civil war. Children and families in remote, marginalized communities were not getting even the most basic health care services, putting young lives at risk.

To provide health care at the village level, Save the Children’s program trained activistas to be the first line of defense, volunteers who visit families and educate them on health and hygiene. They also report illness to community mobilizers, who can treat some illnesses, like diarrhea, and refer others to the district clinic.

Every week, Marianna Salvador Matavele,the mobilizer for Bugane, meets with Nurse Alda Ndava from Xai Xai District Health Clinic to review her cases. (Nurse Alda manages a community mobilizer for each of the villages served by the clinic.) This way Nurse Alda can track illnesses in the villages and make sure individuals are receiving appropriate care.

The program faced challenges early on. People said they were too busy farming their land, the main source of income, to get involved.

Health advice was met with resistance. Cultural attitudes were hard to change, like taking a child with severe diarrhea to a traditional healer instead of the health center for treatment.

"Some of the challenges were easily overcome by working with community leaders, reaching out to families and providing health education," said Nurse Alda. "We were persistent."

"Twenty years ago, it was common for people to stay at home with their sick children. Now, almost everyone knows where to go to get help from an activista or a mobilizer."

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Last Updated June 2009