Latest news with #Mozambique
Russia Today
36 minutes ago
- Business
- Russia Today
African state calls for global financial reform
Mozambique has expressed its readiness to work with Russia in building a new global financial architecture that supports economic development in Mozambique and across Africa. The statement was made by Mozambique's minister of planning and development, Salim Vala, during the 'Business dialogue Russia-Africa' panel discussion at the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Thursday. Vala noted that while Mozambique holds substantial reserves of natural gas, rubies, gold, and coal, its most valuable asset remains its people. He highlighted the importance of unlocking the country's full economic potential to improve the well-being of its 33.4 million citizens. 'We have a 20-year strategy,' Vala stated, explaining that Mozambique does not want to rely solely on oil and gas. Instead, the focus is on modernizing agriculture and advancing industrialization. 'We must work together with Russia, with other African countries, and with other developing nations to create a new financial architecture, to develop enterprises and the private sector.' Vala called for a shift in global perception, proposing a new narrative of 'an Africa that is more educated, healthier, an Africa with the human capital and technologies that can ensure prosperity for its people.' He added that cooperation with Russia and other African partners is essential for developing both social and economic infrastructure, which can in turn attract greater investment, generate employment, and reduce poverty and inequality. Earlier in June, Eugenio Alberto Macumbe, the head of the Digital Governance Division at Mozambique's Information and Communication Technology Regulatory Authority, also underscored the value of Russian engagement in development initiatives. Speaking to RT, he said Mozambique is actively pursuing digital transformation and artificial intelligence strategies, and stressed the importance of learning from countries like Russia, which he said is 'very advanced in this process.' At the 12th edition of the Mozambique Technology Fair in May, Vala highlighted the crucial role of information and communication technology in the nation's development.
News24
7 hours ago
- Health
- News24
These are the children the United States left to die in Mozambique
In Mozambique, the health system is overwhelmingly built on US money. When the Trump administration instantly pulled much of this funding without warning, disease and death spread. Spotlight and GroundUp visited one of the worst affected regions to describe the human toll. Hospitals run short of life-saving drugs. Doctors and nurses are laid off en masse. Hospital lines get longer and longer. Some patients are given the wrong medication, likely because the data capturers (who manage patient files) have lost their jobs. Community case workers who deliver HIV medication to orphaned children stop coming. Without their antiretrovirals (ARVs), some of these children die, GroundUp reports. Following US President Donald Trump's executive order to suspend US global aid funding on 20 January, the health system in parts of Mozambique fell into a state of chaos. US aid agencies had financed much of the country's healthcare workforce, along with the transportation of drugs and diagnostic tests to government hospitals. In some provinces, this money came from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which restored much of its funding shortly after the executive order. But in the central provinces of Sofala and Manica the money came from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which permanently pulled most of its grants. For a week in June, I travelled to nine rural villages and towns across the two provinces. Interviews with grieving caregivers, health workers and government officials across these settlements all converged on one clear and near-universal conclusion: the funding cuts have led to the deaths of children. One of the clearest reasons is this. After USAID-backed community health workers were dismissed, thousands of HIV-positive children under their care were abandoned. Panic at all levels In 2020, a Sofala-based organisation called ComuSanas received a large USAID grant to employ hundreds of community workers throughout rural parts of the province. 'The project aimed to reduce mortality among children living with HIV,' says Joaquim Issufo, a former community worker with the project. He spoke to me from a street market in the impoverished district of Buzi, where he now runs a stall selling fish. 'We worked with children aged 0 to 17, especially orphans and vulnerable children.' These children live in remote villages, far away from public amenities. Some were found living in homes without any adults. Many others live with an elderly grandparent who can barely afford to feed them. Jesse Copelyn/GroundUp In the midst of poverty and isolation, the case workers, known locally as activists, functioned as a bridge between these children and the country's hospitals. They shuttled diagnostic tests between communities and health facilities. They brought children their medicines and ensured they took the correct doses at the right times. And they accompanied them to health facilities, and helped them weave through bureaucracy. Issufo notes that their role also extended far beyond health: they organised birth certificates, enrolled children in schools and referred them for housing. When drought and famine ripped through villages, they brought food baskets and provided nutritional education. In the villages that I went to, children and their caregivers referred to the activists as 'mother', 'father' or 'sister', and said that they were like family members. But after USAID issued stop-work orders to ComuSanas in January, those 'mothers and fathers' abruptly stopped visiting, and suddenly the region's most desperate children were left to fend for themselves. Issufo says that after this, there was 'panic at all levels, both for us as activists and also for our beneficiaries'. Children hospitalised and left for dead About 80km from Issufo's fish stall is the village of Tica, in the Nhamatanda district. Amid homes of mud brick and thatch, a group of former ComuSanas activists sit on logs, buckets and reed mats and explain the consequences of the programme's termination. '[Before the USAID cuts], I was taking care of a boy because [he] lives with an elderly woman, and she had to work,' says Marta Jofulande, 'I had to go to the health facility and give the child his [ARV] medication. I also helped to do things like preparing food. But with this suspension, I couldn't go anymore.' Jesse Copelyn/GroundUp Shortly after, Jofulande was told by the child's elderly caregiver that he had fallen ill, and was in critical care at a central hospital. 'I was the one bringing the [ARVs] to him,' says Jofulande, 'As soon as the programme stopped, he no longer took the medication, and that's when he relapsed. He is in a very critical condition and is breathing through a tube.' 'His name is Cleiton,' she adds. 'He's eight years old.' Jesse Copelyn/GroundUp Many other children have already perished. A 20-minute drive from Tica is the settlement of Mutua, in the Dondo district. There, activist Carlota Francisco says, 'During this pause, we had cases [of children] that were really critical that ended up losing their lives.' One of them had been a 2-year-old girl under her care. 'That child depended on me,' says Francisco, who explains that she would fetch and provide the girl's ARVs. After she stopped, she says the girl's caregivers failed to give her the correct dosages. The 2-year-old died shortly thereafter. Stories such as this were repeated in almost every village that we visited. Often, children or their caregivers attempted to get the medication without the activists. But many of the hospitals were in a state of chaos because USAID-funded health workers and data capturers had been laid off. The linkage officers that knew these children and had previously assisted them were gone too. (The procurement of the country's ARVs is financed by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This money continues to flow, but the distribution of these drugs to hospitals relies on US money.) Endless queues, drug shortages and the loss of patient files meant some didn't get their medication. Rates of ARV treatment fall throughout the province The director of health for the Buzi district, Roque Junior Gemo, explains that a key role of the community workers had been to extend health services to remote areas that they had long struggled to reach. 'They are like our tree branches to bring services to the people,' says Gemo, 'Our villages are very remote, and we have a large population that needs information [and] basic services.' 'Especially in the HIV area, we have terminal patients who were once followed up by activists. They used to get medications at home. Without that help, their condition worsened, and some died.' This forms part of an issue that extends far beyond the district of Buzi. In the Sofala capital of Beira, I sat down with some of the province's senior health officials. The HIV supervisor for the province, Manuel Seco, provided data on the HIV response in Sofala, before and after the cuts. Between May and December of 2024, the total number of people on ARVs in the province had risen by over 20 /000 people, the data shows. This increase occurred steadily, rising by 500 to 5 000 people each month. But as soon as the cuts were made, this progress was halted and the trend reversed. Since January, the number of people on ARV treatment has been falling by hundreds of people each month. The reason, according to Seco, is that many people who were on ARVs have stopped their treatment, while new ARV initiations have dropped sharply. And the impact extends far beyond just the HIV response. Jesse Copelyn/GroundUp TB left untreated Buried within a compound owned by Tongaat Hulett is a government hospital that services the rural population of Mafambisse, in Dondo district. Joaquim Mupanguiua, who deals with TB at the hospital, says that after the activists were laid off, the hospital saw a steep decline in the number of TB patients coming to the facility. 'Only when they are already very ill do they come to the health unit,' he says. 'But with the activists they would easily go to the communities and find the sick.' Indeed the number of patients coming to the hospital is roughly a third of what it once was: 'We used to get around 28 to 30 [TB] patients per month, but now we're down to fewer than 10,' Mupanguiua notes. Because patients come to the hospital when they're already severely ill, there's significantly less that health facilities can do for them. It's thus no surprise that Mupanguiua believes that there has been an uptick in needless TB deaths. Finding other ways Back in the Buzi district office, Gemo says that efforts have been made to assist terminal patients that had previously been supported by activists, but there are so many people in need that they aren't able to help everyone. Activists often said something similar – they continue to visit their beneficiaries when they can, they say, but without ComuSanas sponsoring their transport costs, many struggle to visit children in remote areas. And the loss of their income with the programme means that they now need to spend their days finding other ways to survive – subsistence farming and street markets are the usual routes. But this work rarely offers the kind of regular income that ComuSanas had been providing. 'Honestly, buying notebooks, pens and clothes for my children [has become] very difficult,' says Dondo-based activist, Brito Balao. Meanwhile, in Tica, activists asked how they could provide food to their former beneficiaries when they are themselves going hungry. Despite this, the activists still live within the same villages as their beneficiaries. And so unlike those in Washington, they cannot withdraw their support without facing the resentment or desperation of their communities. 'We work with love, and we get really sad not being able to be there for those kids,' says one Mutua-based activist. 'There's even another family that cried today [when they saw me]. 'You've been away for a while,' they said. Gosh, we feel bad.' Among former beneficiaries of the programme the sense of abandonment was palpable, and their anger was often directed at the former activists. This was often compounded by the fact that no one had explained to them why the programme had stopped. Jesse Copelyn/GroundUp In the village of Nharuchonga, Joana, explains that in the past her activist, Fatima, would always come and ensure that her daughter took her ARVs. Now that Fatima has stopped coming, her daughter doesn't always take the medication, she says. (Fatima is present during this conversation.) 'We've been abandoned by Fatima,' she states, looking directly away from the former activist. 'Until now we have been too shy to ask why she has abandoned us.' In many other cases, the tone was simply one of sadness. Back in Tica, inside an outdoor kitchen made of corrugated iron sheets, Maria holds her five-year-old granddaughter Teresa. Despite facing hunger at various points over recent years, she cooks sweet potatoes above a small fire, and insists that everyone eats. Both of Teresa's parents died of AIDS, says Maria. It has been left to her to raise the child, all the while trying to grow rice and maize for subsistence – an effort hampered by frequent drought. For a long time Maria has had help with this parental role, she says. Activist Marta Jofulande had been assisting her family and acting like a mother to the child. But since the programme was terminated, they don't see much of Jofulande anymore. Instead, five-year-old Teresa has been forced to deal with the exit of yet another parental figure./ A note on quotes: Most of our interviews were in Portuguese and were mediated by a local translator. We subsequently transcribed and translated the recordings of these interviews using AI-based software, including Descript and ChatGPT. Where there was a significant mismatch between the interpretations of the translator and the software, we contacted the interviewee or got third parties to help translate the recordings. The cost of travel, accommodation and the journalist's remuneration was shared between GroundUp and Spotlight.
Zawya
10 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Mozambique energy minister optimistic on TotalEnergies' plan to resume LNG project
TOKYO - Mozambique's energy minister said on Friday the government has not received a request from TotalEnergies to lift a force majeure declaration on its $20-billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project there, but he is optimistic about the oil major's plan to resume its development this summer. The force majeure will be lifted as soon as the project's operator determines conditions are in place to resume operations, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Estevao Pale told reporters in Tokyo, after meeting with Japan's industry minister, Muto Yoji. "We, as government, are doing everything that we can to be able to resume the project," Pale said. "We are working together with all partners on the project to create the security conditions favourable to restart the project," he said, adding that security conditions have improved considerably. TotalEnergies Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne had said at an energy conference in Tokyo on Wednesday that he expects the project to resume development "this summer". Covered by force majeure since 2021 following insurgent attacks, the Mozambique LNG project includes development of the Golfinho and Atum natural gas fields in the Offshore Area 1 concession and the building of a two-train liquefaction plant. The plant will have an annual capacity of 13.12 million metric tons. French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies is the project's operator with a stake of 26.5%, followed by Mitsui & Co with 20%. Mozambique's state-owned ENH has 15%, and Indian state companies and Thailand's PTTEP own the rest. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo; Writing by Emily Chow in Singapore; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Tom Hogue)
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Mozambique energy minister optimistic on TotalEnergies' plan to resume LNG project
TOKYO, June 20 (Reuters) - Mozambique's energy minister said on Friday the government has not received a request from TotalEnergies ( opens new tab to lift a force majeure declaration on its $20-billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project there, but he is optimistic about the oil major's plan to resume its development this summer. The force majeure will be lifted as soon as the project's operator determines conditions are in place to resume operations, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Estevao Pale told reporters in Tokyo, after meeting with Japan's industry minister, Muto Yoji. "We, as government, are doing everything that we can to be able to resume the project," Pale said. "We are working together with all partners on the project to create the security conditions favourable to restart the project," he said, adding that security conditions have improved considerably. TotalEnergies Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne had said at an energy conference in Tokyo on Wednesday that he expects the project to resume development "this summer". Covered by force majeure since 2021 following insurgent attacks, the Mozambique LNG project includes development of the Golfinho and Atum natural gas fields in the Offshore Area 1 concession and the building of a two-train liquefaction plant. The plant will have an annual capacity of 13.12 million metric tons. French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies is the project's operator with a stake of 26.5%, followed by Mitsui & Co (8031.T), opens new tab with 20%. Mozambique's state-owned ENH has 15%, and Indian state companies and Thailand's PTTEP ( opens new tab own the rest.
Daily Mail
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Operating room tragedy after famous singer 'took her surgeon out on the town' night before her nose and boob job
A singer who died hours after undergoing plastic surgery allegedly went on a boozy night out with her surgeon the night before going under the knife. Ana Bárbara Buhr Buldrini went into cardiac arrest and died at a hospital in Turkey after receiving a breast augmentation, liposuction and a nose job. The singer, 31, traveled with her artist husband, Elgar Miles, from their home in Mozambique to Istanbul last Friday for the surgeries. Miles told Brazilian news outlet O Tempo that she was receiving the procedures in return for promoting Tusa Hospital. 'She wanted to undergo these procedures to improve her aesthetic standards. It was a dream of hers,' Miles said. The couple, who married just a month ago, allegedly partied with the physician doing the surgeries in Istanbul on Saturday night, G1 reports. Miles said they inquired about changing the date of the operation which was scheduled for Wednesday, to allow an extra day to recover. 'Due to scheduling issues, the surgeon decided to bring it forward to Sunday,' Miles said. 'We went to the clinic on Sunday just to see the place, but the doctor wanted to perform the procedure without Ana being prepared.' Despite being out the night before, Miles claims his wife was persuaded to go ahead. 'The doctor assured me that there were no problems and that everything would be fine,' Miles told G1 news outlet. Ana Bárbara underwent the procedures and was out of the operating room by 11 pm Sunday. Miles said the doctor sent him a photo that showed the singer recovering. Staff updated Miles and told him that she was still under anesthesia and that it would not take long for her to wake up. But his concerns grew after he noticed a change in the staff's mood. 'They told me to go to the room, the assistants were acting strangely. I waited for 1 hour and 15 minutes to receive her,' Miles said. 'I went down to the ground floor and a doctor said that her heart was beating slowly, another said that she was already dead.' The doctors were detained at the hospital and later released by the Turkish police. In a statement obtained by Turkish outlet Turkiye Today, Tusa Hospital denied any malpractice and said its staff attempted to revive Ana Bárbara. 'Despite all efforts by our expert anesthesiology team, the patient could not be resuscitated,' the medical facility said. Ana Bárbara and Miles were married May 3 in Maputo, Mozambique, six years after meeting in Rome. At the time she was employed at a tattoo studio next to the music recording studio Miles owned. 'She was the person who cared for me the most, who loved me the most, who believed in me the most,' he said. 'I just want justice to be done and for this case to serve as an example for all people who want to undergo a type of medical intervention like the one Ana underwent.' In a heart-breaking tribute on Instagram, Miles laid bare the extent of his agony. 'Our last few days were too beautiful to end this tragically,' he wrote. 'I will love you forever because I chose you for that. Years and years of building our empire for today I'm here in this room alone with no floor. 'I promised to protect and love you like the queen and beautiful person you are inside and out. It doesn't seem fair living this life without you, not really. 'I want to be wherever you are because none of this makes sense without you.' The Daily Mail has approached Tusa Hospital, the Turkish authorities and the Brazilian Embassy for comment.
