Speeches Shim
Aflatoxins are pervasive in the value chains of key staple crops such as maize and groundnuts in many developing countries where agriculture is a significant contributor to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Mozambique is one such country, where agriculture constitutes 24% of the GDP, with 80% of the population dependent on it as a source of income. Some of the most commonly cultivated crops in Mozambique, such as maize, cassava, and groundnuts, are easily contaminated by aflatoxins and widely consumed by the population. Aflatoxin exposure and its association with growth impairment in children may contribute to a significant public health burden, especially in less developed countries like Mozambique.
Through its Energy Policy Activity, USAID helps Bosnia and Herzegovina attract investment and integrate its energy market into regional and EU markets. USAID’s implementing partner for this five-year $7.5 million project is Advanced Engineering Associates International.
School councils (SCs) are the school bodies charged with monitoring quality of services, improved school management and accountability. SC members are elected and typically include representatives from the community. SCs are partially composed by parents and local leaders who are often adults who typically have limited access to information on how school councils should operate. SC members also lack the capacity to hold school staff accountable for providing quality education, starting with the effective use of available instruction time for improved learning outcomes.
Since the end of the civil war in 1992, the Government of the Republic of Mozambique (GRM) has been rebuilding its education system with the goal of providing universal access. Under the policy of free and compulsory primary education, the primary education net enrollment ratio has expanded from 52% in 1999 to 94% in 2016. This expansion has placed pressure on school management, teaching personnel, and the overall quality of classroom instruction, resulting in overcrowded multi-shift schools, high student/teacher ratios, and plummeting reading and math test scores.
Poverty and HIV/AIDS in Mozambique’s Zambézia Province have kept many children from staying in school. About 75% live in absolute poverty where the HIV prevalence rate of women and men age 15-49 is 15.1%. Poor teaching quality, long distances to schools, early pregnancy and marriage, gender-based violence, child labor and negative attitudes towards girls’ schooling are major challenges to the education of girls in Zambézia. Girls’ average completion rates in Zambézia are 23% percent at the upper primary level and 4% at the secondary level.
Education is a fundamental human right. In 2016, 94% of school-age children were enrolled in primary school, compared to 72% in 2003. Despite the increase in enrollment, education quality in Mozambique still remains a challenge, with low levels of competency in reading and writing at the end of the 1st and 2nd grades of primary education. As a result, less than five percent of students demonstrate grade-level reading proficiency by 3rd grade.
In Mozambique, a country of 27 million, life expectancy is 51 years of age and the leading causes of death are malaria, TB, and HIV/AIDS, which has a high prevalence hovering at 12% and double that in certain areas. In this largely rural country, where health facilities can take over an hour´s walk to reach, the rate of maternal deaths is high (408/100,000) and are related to complications from childbirth, HIV or malaria. Pneumonia, diarrhea, newborn complications or infections are the next leading causes exacerbated by chronic malnutrition. The proportion of children under-five who are stunted is 43 percent. In recent years, the number of child deaths has fallen by nearly half and malaria deaths are on the decline. However there are an estimated 800,000 orphans and vulnerable children. Essential medicine and commodity stock-outs are very common, particularly in hard to reach areas.
Mozambique ranked 181st out of 188 countries in the 2015 UNDP Human Development Index, and 139th out of 159 countries in the UNDP Gender Inequality Index. Extreme poverty and the HIV/AIDS epidemic have contributed to the precarious status of women and girls in the country. Low levels of education, high maternal health risks, pressure to marry at a young age, limited economic prospects, gender-based violence, and accepted cultural norms place women at a high disadvantage. Few girls finish primary school (46%), even fewer finish secondary school (22%), and 56% of women are illiterate (upwards of 70% in rural areas).
Mozambique is a country of approximately 29 million people challenged by a generalized HIV epidemic. National HIV prevalence is estimated at 13%, with substantial variation in provincial prevalence ranging from 5% in Tete Province to 24% in Gaza Province. At the end of 2016, there were an estimated 1.9 million people living with HIV (PLHIV), with a higher prevalence among women, 15% vs. 10% among men. Prevalence among adolescent girls 15-19 is estimated at 6% and among young women 20-24 is estimated at 13%, compared to 2% and 5% among adolescent boys and young men.
The importance of agricultural sector production to Mozambique´s food security, livelihoods and economic growth cannot be overstated. About 80% of the population is engaged in farming which accounts for roughly 25% of the country´s Gross Domestic Product. Only half of the country´s arable land is under cultivation and subsistence farmers are highly vulnerable to variations in rainfall and temperature. Low agricultural productivity significantly impacts the economy and public health due to low yields, destructive land management practices, and poor nutrition. Mozambique has the potential to transform subsistence farming into commercial agriculture for domestic and export markets and reduce extreme poverty in rural areas.
Comment
Make a general inquiry or suggest an improvement.