On Tuesday, the Mozambican government approved a law establishing the legal regime of the National Health System, a proposal aimed at “adapting” it to the health challenges of the current context.
“The proposed law aims to adapt the national health system to the complexity and scale of health problems, combined with the socio-economic situation, demographic and epidemiological changes in the country,” the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers said in a note published after the meeting in the organization’s weekly.
In the document, Mozambique’s executive branch does not provide details of the changes, stating only that the new legal regime, which must be approved by parliament, “applies to public, social and private institutions, individuals and communities that carry out activities in the health sector.”
Over the past two years, the National Health System of Mozambique has faced several moments of pressure caused by employee strikes, firstly by the Association of Doctors of Mozambique, which threatens to paralyse activities again in September due to salary cuts and lack of overtime pay, and then by the Association of United and Solidary Health Workers of Mozambique (APSUSM), which recently broke its strike but also threatens to resume it.
In an interview with Lusa in June this year, APSUSM, which represents around 65,000 health workers from different departments (excluding doctors), classified the situation in the national system as chaotic, warning that professionals, in constant protest in recent months, are working without conditions.
“The situation remains challenging for us because we are working in an improvised manner, we need to make a lot of adjustments to be able to provide the minimum of adequate care,” said APSUSM general secretary Sheila Chukela, warning that health workers were also considering resuming their strike.
According to the Ministry of Health, there are 1,778 medical institutions in the country, including 107 medical centers, three specialized hospitals, four central hospitals, seven general hospitals, seven provincial hospitals, 22 rural hospitals and 47 district hospitals. Lusa consulted on health issues.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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