Service Delivery and Capacity Building

IOM's health-related interventions in Mozambique focus on HIV prevention in migration-affected communities along southern transport corridors, and community-based responses targeting prospective and ex-mineworkers, their families and communities in selected mine-sending areas in the country.

HIV Prevention in Migration-Affected Communities in Transport Corridors in Southern Mozambique (Funded by SIDA, UNAIDS)

The southern provinces of Mozambique have some of the highest recorded levels of HIV and TB in the world.  The southern region of Mozambique, which includes the capital city, Maputo, borders both South Africa and Swaziland, and features two high-traffic transport corridors which link Maputo with Johannesburg and Swazi capital Mbabane. Qualitative research undertaken by IOM and UNDP in 2012 (see below) concluded that the corridor and border towns of Namaacha, Goba, Boane, and Ressano Garcia are characterized by high levels of sex work and transactional sex. People are engaging in multiple sexual partnerships with inconsistent condom use, despite having good knowledge of HIV prevention, and high reported uptake of HIV testing.

IOM Mozambique partners with UNFPA and UNICEF to implement a set of combination prevention activities targeting migration-affected communities along the southern transport corridors. The project aims to reduce the vulnerability to HIV of women and girls in hotspots along this corridor.

IOM is working with two local organisations: the Mozambican Association for the Development of the Family (AMODEFA) and the Coalition for Mozambican Youth (COALIZÃO). These organisations are implementing on-the-ground activities to address HIV vulnerabilities related to migration. In March 2013, IOM ran a six-day training for AMODEFA and COALIZÃO senior trainers and other local stakeholders including community radios, using the IOM Gender, Migration and HIV curriculum.

In July, AMODEFA begins training a pool of change agents to integrate Gender, Migration and HIV into their community mobilization and communications activities. Following the trainings, and with technical support from IOM, AMODEFA and COALIZÃO will establish District Dialogue Groups bringing together a broad spectrum of community stakeholders (traditional and religious leaders, peer educators, district authorities, school staff, civil society, health care personnel and migration officials). The groups will meet monthly to discuss issues relating to the health of their community, especially HIV and AIDS, and issues around migration, including addressing stigma relating to migrant health.

To access the research reports Risks and Vulnerability to HIV: Analysis of Key Determinants along the Nacala Transport Corridor (July 2012) and Determinants of HIV in Key Hotspots on the Southern Corridor: Maputo to Swaziland (April 2012), please go to: https://southafrica.iom.int/publications/migration-and-health.

Community-Based Responses Targeting Prospective and Ex-mineworkers, their Families and Communities in Selected Mine-Sending Areas in Mozambique

Under a PEPFAR/USAID project, IOM partners with TEBA – the main recruitment agency for the mining houses in South Africa – to provide technical assistance to implement HIV and TB prevention, home-based care, and orphans and vulnerable children services using IOM’s health promotion model. The project is implemented in Gaza Province.

During the months of January to June, IOM facilitated community trainings for: (a) 125 community, traditional and religious leaders in Gender Based Violence (GBV) in five districts in partnership with Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA), (b) 30 community volunteers on Nutrition and Positive Prevention and (c) trained 25 community volunteer 4 field officers and 3 coordinators on nutrition, in partnership with Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA), that was followed by community demonstrations of good cooking practices.

Additionally, after joint USAID, IOM and TEBA management meetings, IOM supported TEBA’s process of revising and harmonizing the project work-plans for Prevention, Home Based Care (HBC) and Orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). IOM and TEBA drafted guidelines for  volunteer OVC and HBC visits, adapted the national Ministry of Women and Social Action protocols for OVC visits and developed a guide for community communication session for volunteers. IOM also lead and organized the commemoration of World Tuberculosis (TB) day in partnership with the Provincial Health Department.