Mozambique - ONES – ONE Syndemic approach

ONES – ONE Syndemic approach: an integrated service for people affected by AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria

LUOGO

Districts of Morrumbene, Homoine, Funhalouro, Massinga and Panda in Inhambane Province, Mozambique.

OBJECTIVE

The “ONES – ONE Syndemic approach” project aims to sustainably improve access to, and the quality of, care for people living in the most isolated rural communities of Inhambane Province, where HIV, tuberculosis and malaria form a true syndemic affecting the same families with cumulative effects.

The initiative specifically seeks to strengthen the integration between communities and the National Health Service in the response to AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, overcoming the geographical, cultural and economic barriers that limit access to prevention, diagnosis and treatment services.

MMI ACTIVITIES

Together with institutional and community partners, MMI promotes an integrated mobile clinic model that brings quality services directly to the communities farthest from health centres, putting the person at the centre rather than focusing on a single disease.

In the rural communities of the target districts, the project works through the following activities:

• Training and supervision of health workers from health centres and Integrated Mobile Brigades on national strategies for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria control, using a cross-cutting and person-centred approach.
• Regular organization of Integrated Mobile Brigades, multidisciplinary mobile health teams that provide prevention, diagnosis and treatment services for HIV, TB and malaria on the same day and in the same place, reducing the long travel distances that rural populations must otherwise face.
• Introduction and testing of innovative interventions for the local context, including malaria chemoprophylaxis for children, tuberculosis diagnostic tests based on tongue swabs, and care packages for patients with advanced AIDS.
• Strengthening of services already launched in previous projects, such as the TARV-móvel strategy for antiretroviral treatment delivery in remote communities and integrated mother-child packages for the prevention of vertical HIV transmission.
• Systematic collection and analysis of epidemiological data generated through community activities and national registries, in collaboration with health authorities and the university, to measure impact and inform health policy

Alongside this, the project invests in participatory awareness-raising, health education and community follow-up of cases, in order to encourage preventive behaviours and reduce stigma, fear and resistance to chronic treatment.

BENEFICIARIES

Around 183,000 people living in the rural communities of the five target districts will directly benefit from the project.

Estimated direct beneficiaries include:

• 39,787 children aged 0 to 5 years.
• 22,027 children, adolescents and young people aged 5 to 14 years.
• 121,133 adolescents over 14 years and adults, with particular attention to pregnant women and the most vulnerable populations.

The interventions also contribute to the ongoing strengthening of local health teams and community agents, with positive effects for the entire resident population in the districts involved.

The project’s indirect beneficiaries are the 284,930 residents of the target districts.