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. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic fueled private sector growth which serves a small niche of the population. HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria top the spread of major communicable diseases. There is also increasing focus on other communicable and non-communicable diseases such as cancer, heart diseases, high-blood pressure, diabetes, and others.
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, laboratory services, infrastructure, and supply chain.
Poor coverage and inadequate equipment for imaging and radiology services and clinical laboratories, as well as 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 distances from medical centers and resulting 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 people 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. Those U.S. companies operating here 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.
Leading Subsectors
- Hospital Design and Construction
- Laboratories
- Telehealth /Electronic Services
- Training
- Cold Chain Transportation and Storage
- Medical Devices
Opportunities
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.
Resources