Mozambique, located in southeastern Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world. The country is home to an expanding HIV epidemic, particularly in its southern provinces, with 60 percent of new HIV infections occurring in the 15 to 24 age group, according to UNAIDS. HIV infection rates for girls ages 15 to 19 are three times higher than those for their male counterparts.
The World Health Organization reports increasing rates of new tuberculosis (TB) cases in Mozambique, with TB death rates ranking third-highest in the world. Schistosomiasis and malaria, especially among children, are also major public health concerns.
NIAID-Funded Activities
NIAID-supported projects in Mozambique include research on insecticide resistance among malaria-transmitting mosquitoes and studies on drug-resistant HIV infection in adults and children. NIAID also conducts and funds research in the United States and abroad aimed at diseases that affect Mozambique and other nations in sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2012, an NIAID-funded HIV/AIDS clinical research site in Mozambique joined other collaborators in an ongoing clinical trial testing an investigational TB vaccine in infants at risk for TB infection.