As much-needed COVID-19 vaccinations reach vulnerable groups at a camp for internally displaced persons in Mozambique’s Niassa Province, local health worker Celio Marcelino is responsible for inputting their data into the country’s digital records system.

“It’s very important we look after displaced people. They’ve come a long way and have been through a lot. We visit them for vaccinations. It saves them a long walk to the health centre. We want them to feel cared for,” he says.

“It’s very important we look after displaced people. They’ve come a long way and have been through a lot. We visit them for vaccinations. We want them to feel cared for.” – Celio Marcelino, statistician in Niassa Province 

Celio is one of more than 165 statisticians, data managers and health focal points to benefit from data management training by the World Health Organization (WHO), which has been carried out in four of the country’s provinces since May 2022 with funding from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

“The health professionals who deal with data are not just working on COVID but on malaria, tuberculosis, polio and other diseases,” says Dr Carlos Funzamo, Technical Lead Officer on the ECHO project in Mozambique. “The skills they gained through the WHO training are transferable. So thanks to this initiative, we can strengthen the country’s entire health system.”

With help from WHO and other partner organizations, including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, the United States Agency for International Development and World Bank, Mozambique is now among the 10 African countries that have vaccinated 40% or more of their population. The vaccination coverage among the total population currently stands at 46% and 93.6% among adults over 18 years. WHO’s technical support has helped the country to prioritize vulnerable groups and set up health posts for vaccination accordingly.