Bacterial, Viral and other Neglected Tropical Diseases are among the main causes of morbidity and mortality causing a diversity of clinical syndromes, constituting a problem for public health in the country. Among these, we highlight those caused by pathogens associated with enteric, acute respiratory infections and invasive bacterial diseases that affect mainly children under 5 years of age. In 2015, there were, globally, around 5.8 million deaths in children in this age group, where pneumonia, diarrhea and sepsis/meningitis were among the top 5 causes of death, contributing with 920,000 (15%), 526,000 (9.1%) and 517,000 (8.9%) deaths, respectively. In Mozambique, results of verbal autopsy indicated pneumonia, diarrhea and malnutrition as being among the top 5 causes of death in children under 15 years of age.

On the other hand, diseases caused by viruses other than HIV, have occupied a prominent place in public health due to their distribution and high prevalence, particularly in children under 5 years of age. Although there are programs and efforts to mitigate them, challenges regarding early diagnosis and treatment, scarcity of data on weight and circulating strains prevail, especially for viruses associated with respiratory infections.

Due to the high prevalence and impact of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in the country, especially in rural areas where the prevalence exceeds 40%, control strategies have been 

implemented following WHO and UNICEF recommendations, which include the massive administration of medicines, control of morbidity, improvement of water conditions, sanitation and hygiene, as well as education towards health.

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Main objectives

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• Continue to contribute to the definition of disease weight by monitoring epidemiological trends and circulating strains to guide the development of control and prevention tools at local, national and international levels

• Contribute to the development, testing and evaluation of the impact of intervention tools (e.g. vaccines, drugs, new screening and diagnostic methods, etc.)

• Understand the dynamics of disease transmission, driving research on emerging diseases and the one health approach (zoonotic and emerging diseases)

• Establish new approaches to molecular research in the context of antimicrobial resistance, transmission patterns and virulence of major pathogens

• Contribute to the training of new staff at different levels and specialties.