This is a best prospect industry sector for this country. Includes a market overview and trade data.
Overview
Over 30 million people reside in Mozambique. However, almost half of the population live in absolute poverty with limited access to the public health system. The Government of Mozambique provides healthcare services to most of the population through the Ministry of Health, which manages public hospitals and health care centers. The remaining people rely on traditional approaches for medical assistance involving community health agents, elementary agents, and birth attendants. HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria top the spread of major communicable diseases. However, there is increasing focus on other communicable and non-communicable diseases such as cancer, heart diseases, high-blood pressure, diabetes, and others. Although Mozambique witnessed a decreasing number of COVID cases, the virus continues to dominate the public health agenda and to pose a permanent threat risking health system exhaustion and service disruption.
Mozambique’s strategic plan for the health sector outlines objectives to promote ongoing and sustained improvements of health assistance while addressing challenges associated with demographic discrepancies and epidemiologic changes. Furthermore, it aims to establish electronic systems to manage patient care to pharmacy support, human resources planning and allocation, laboratory services, infrastructure, and supply chain.
Poor coverage and inadequate equipment for imaging and radiology services and clinical laboratories, as well as of a lack of other medical technology, all contribute to shortcomings in the quality of services provided and fuel demand for equipment and maintenance services. Long distance and travel times limit healthcare assistance to many.
Almost 80% of Mozambique’s health sector budget is domestically funded, while the remainder is supported by foreign assistance. Most of the population uses public health assistance, which is offered for free. However, there is a small portion of the population that can afford health insurance and access private clinics treatment. Additionally, those are often medical tourists to South Africa, Brazil, India, and Portugal.
Importers of medical supplies, equipment, and pharmaceuticals must register as a foreign trade operator at the Ministry of Health and present an import license for every product. As a result, U.S. companies must either establish an office in Mozambique or partner with a Mozambican distributor. Additionally, U.S. companies tend to provide medical equipment to the public sector, including hospitals and health centers, to leverage their large economies of scale. However, collaboration with local distributors or partners improve customer trust and ease after-sales assistance.
Subsectors
- Hospital Design and Construction
- Telehealth
- Training
- Cold Chain Transportation and Storage
- Medical Devices
Opportunities
By May 2022, 93% of the over-18 adult population had been vaccinated against COVID-19, but demand continues to exist for testing equipment. Furthermore, Mozambique intends to improve assistance related to reproductive, maternal, child and adolescent health, and nutrition services in underserved areas by enhancing coverage, access, and quality of primary health care services.
In 2019, the President launched the “One District, One Hospital” initiative, aimed at providing quality health care and the provision of essential services to the population over a period of five years. Moreover, the initiative will establish well-equipped hospitals in 154 districts with the following facilities: operating room, orthopedics, laboratory, radiology, and blood bank.