MSF_ Doctors Without Borders Mozambique
Mozambique

MSF concludes emergency response in northern Mozambique, but critical gaps in healthcare access remain

Press Release9 April 2026

The response was launched following the country’s largest wave of displacement last year

After 12 weeks of emergency activities, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has concluded its intervention in Eráti district, in northern Mozambique’s Nampula province. Our teams provided primary healthcare and emergency services to displaced and host communities in Alua Velha, Alua Sede and Miliva, at a time when local health services were overwhelmed, and the risk of disease outbreaks was high. MSF continues to carry out regular activities in the country

Doctors Without Borders (MSF)_Mozambique
Tent used for consultations as part of an MSF mobile clinic in Alua Velha, Eráti district, Nampula province.During MSF’s emergency intervention from December to February, heavy rains made several locations difficult to access and flooded areas where displaced families sought shelter, often sleeping on the ground for weeks.
Sofia Minetto/MSF

MSF launched this response in December 2025, following the largest wave of displacement recorded that year, triggered by attacks by the armed group Islamic State Mozambique and fear of further violence. More than 100,000 people fled the Memba district, with many seeking refuge in neighbouring Eráti under extremely precarious conditions.

With no formal camps in place, displaced families relied largely on host communities, who shared their homes, food and land despite already limited resources.

Josefina Pedro, a resident of Alua Sede “People arriving had nowhere to go and nothing to eat,”
Doctors Without Borders (MSF)_Mozambique

“People arriving had nowhere to go and nothing to eat,” says Josefina Pedro, a resident of Alua Sede. “The fear and exhaustion were written on their faces. So those of us who already lived here began to take in whoever we could. In my home, I ended up hosting seven people. We didn’t have much, but we shared what we had, because no one deserves to face suffering alone.”

MSF_ Doctors Without Borders- Mozambique
MSF staff Dália Paulo gives out prescribed medicines to patients, after they received consultations at the MSF mobile clinic in Alua Velha, Eráti District, Nampula Province.Malaria has been the leading cause of illness, representing around half of all consultations. We conducted 11,486 malaria rapid diagnostic tests, of which 7,298 were positive, corresponding to a positivity rate of 63 per cent during the peak of the rainy season. Respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases and skin conditions were also among the most common reasons for consultation.
Sofia Minetto/MSF

Malaria and cholera were among the urgent health needs

The first few weeks of the response were crucial Abdullahi Chara, MSF emergency medical coordinator.

MSF teams deployed mobile clinics in Alua Sede, Alua Velha and Miliva — areas hosting large numbers of displaced people. The teams provided more than 18,000 medical consultations, with over 2,000 consultations per week at the height of the emergency. Children accounted for nearly two-thirds of patients.

“The first few weeks of the response were crucial,” says Abdullahi Chara, MSF emergency medical coordinator. “Health facilities were already under-resourced when the influx of people started increasing. Malaria cases were surging, and when a cholera outbreak was declared days later, there was simply not enough capacity to cope with everything at once.”

Doctors Without Borders (MSF)_Mozambique
As part of the emergency intervention in Nampula, MSF constructed emergency latrines like the ones in this picture, located in Alua Velha, Eráti district.Access to sanitation facilities in the areas of the Eráti district, where MSF ran its emergency intervention, was already severely limited, with almost no functional latrines in Alua Velha. The high influx of displaced people overwhelmed the already scarce services, at a time when the risk of disease outbreaks was particularly high.
Sofia Minetto/MSF

Malaria was the leading cause of illness, representing over half of all consultations, alongside respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases and skin conditions. MSF conducted more than 11,000 malaria rapid diagnostic tests, with a positivity rate of 63 per cent. Teams also provided antenatal care, family planning and mental health services, and carried out health promotion activities reaching tens of thousands of people.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF)_Mozambique
During MSF emergency intervention in northern Mozambique’s Nampula province following the largest mass displacement of 2025, our teams encountered multiple cases of acute diarrhoea – a warning sign of a potential cholera outbreak.To help health authorities in handling the outbreaks, MSF set up a Cholera Treatment Centre (CTC) at Alua Health Centre.These are the latrines built as an essential part of the CTC. We also installed water and energy systems and a dedicated Waste Management Area within the CTC.These environmental health activities play a critical role in reducing public health risks, especially during the peak of an emergency with the rainy season ongoing.
Costantino Monteiro/MSF

Barriers to accessing health care persist

For many people, access to free and timely care was critical, particularly in a context where cost and medicine shortages often limit the very possibility of consulting a doctor and treating illness.

“Back in my village, we have to pay for consultations and medicines, and sometimes there are no drugs available at the health centre,” says Isabel Carlos Pereira, a woman who fled from Memba. “We are told to buy them from private pharmacies.”

Doctors Without Borders (MSF)_Mozambique
Isabel Carlos Pereira, 50, was displaced from Mazua in the Memba district and is now staying in Alua Velha, where she receives care at the MSF mobile clinic.She lost her granddaughter while fleeing the violence and currently lives with 11 other family members in a small, makeshift shelter set up by a relative.Heavy rains that have affected the area since December often make it impossible for the family to cook.“Yesterday it rained, and the rain also entered the house. It was not possible to start a fire and cook, so we stayed without food,” Isabel explains.At the MSF mobile clinic, Isabel has been receiving free healthcare services. In her home village, she says, families had to pay for consultations and medicines. Such costs that are difficult to afford, particularly for large households and people needing repeated follow-ups. Medicines were often unavailable at health centre pharmacies, forcing patients to buy them at higher prices from private pharmacies.“Back in my village, we had to pay for consultations and medicines, and sometimes there were no drugs available at the health centre. We were told to buy them from private pharmacies,” says Isabel.When we met her, Isabel was unsure about returning to Mazua.“I am afraid of being killed if I go back,” she says.
Sofia Minetto/MSF

Her experience echoes that of host community members such as Josefina, who describes the MSF mobile clinic in Alua Velha as “something like a hospital nearby” — a level of access to care she had never experienced before. Often, distance and transport costs are significant barriers for people in northern Mozambique.

“For treatment, we have to go to Alua Sede, where the nearest health centre is,” explains Laura Mário Freda, a resident of Miliva. “It costs between 150 and 250 meticais to get there. If someone is very sick, mototaxi drivers sometimes refuse to transport them because they are afraid the person will die on the way. Having a mobile clinic here is like a dream. We can come and consult someone at any time.”

Doctors Without Borders (MSF)_Mozambique
Women displaced by violence and members of the host community wait for their turn outside an MSF mobile clinic providing primary healthcare in Alua Velha, Eráti district, Nampula province.From December 2025 to February 2026, MSF ran an average of 11 mobile clinics per week in the area to respond to urgent health needs following large-scale displacement in northern Mozambique.
Sofia Minetto/MSF

Cholera response and water and sanitation activities

During an officially declared cholera epidemic, MSF supported the Ministry of Health-led cholera response by establishing a cholera treatment centre in Alua Sede and training local health staff. Teams also implemented water, sanitation and hygiene activities, including building emergency latrines, rehabilitating water sources, and supplying safe drinking water to affected communities.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF)_Mozambique
A view of the Cholera Treatment Centre (CTC) set up by MSF at Alua Health Centre to help health authorities in handling the outbreak.During MSF emergency intervention in northern Mozambique’s Nampula province following the largest mass displacement of 2025, our teams encountered multiple cases of acute diarrhoea – a warning sign of a potential cholera outbreak.Besides setting up the CTC, MSF also built latrines and installed water and energy systems and a dedicated Waste Management Area.These environmental health activities play a critical role in reducing public health risks, especially during the peak of an emergency with the rainy season ongoing.
Costantino Monteiro/MSF

Access to healthcare remains a challenge

As the most acute phase of the crisis subsided, many displaced people began returning to their areas of origin, and MSF handed over activities to the Ministry of Health. However, the intervention exposed longstanding structural gaps in access to healthcare, particularly in remote and underserved areas where people continue to face barriers to care, medicines and basic services.

In a context marked by insecurity, MSF stresses the need for sustained, coordinated and needs-based humanitarian responses.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF)_Mozambique
People take shelter below a tree as they gather outside an MSF mobile clinic in Alua Velha, Eráti District, Nampula Province.To respond to the needs of more than 100,000 people who were forced to flee their homes, MSF launched an emergency intervention in Nampula province. From December to February, MSF teams have been providing critical medical care and essential services in Alua Velha, Alua Sede and Miliva, the areas with the highest concentration of displaced families following violence in parts of Nampula province, in northern Mozambique, in late 2025.
Sofia Minetto/MSF

During the response, displaced people consistently reported that access to assistance was linked to returning to their areas of origin3, leading some families to go back despite the ongoing fear and uncertainty. This reinforces the importance of ensuring that humanitarian assistance is provided based on needs alone; assistance is not conditioned and certainly not used to pressure population movements during a protracted crisis.

We reiterate our commitment to providing essential healthcare, guided by principles of neutrality, independence and impartiality, while addressing both emergency needs and chronic gaps in access to care.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF)_Mozambique
MSF staff Nathalie Gielen and Gimo Lazimo talk to a group of displaced people waiting outside an MSF mobile clinic in Alua Velha, Eráti District, Nampula Province.To respond to the needs of more than 100,000 people who were forced to flee their homes, MSF launched an emergency intervention in Nampula province. From December to February, MSF teams have been providing critical medical care and essential services in Alua Velha, Alua Sede and Miliva, the areas with the highest concentration of displaced families following violence in parts of Nampula province, in northern Mozambique, in late 2025.
Sofia Minetto/MSF

In Cabo Delgado, MSF runs projects in Mocímboa da Praia, Macomia and Palma. We provide general outpatient consultations, emergency care, maternity and paediatric services, sexual and reproductive healthcare, treatment for HIV and tuberculosis, and mental health and psychosocial support.

In 2025, we carried out over 100,000 outpatient consultations, treated nearly 50,000 malaria cases and assisted 7,500 child births. We run mobile clinics and outreach activities, refer patients to health centres, and support medical facilities and hospitals in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.