Zambézie records more than 700 leprosy cases in nine months
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Club of Mozambique
Illustrative image · RDNE Stock project · Pexels · Licence PexelsMozambique’s Zambézie province recorded more than 700 cases of leprosy in the first nine months of 2026, compared with around 600 for all of 2025. Provincial health official Leonardo Mareço linked the rise to limited diagnostic capacity and stressed the importance of early screening, reports Club of Mozambique.
Mozambique’s Zambézie province recorded more than 700 cases of leprosy in the first nine months of 2026, compared with around 600 for all of 2025, according to Leonardo Mareço, head of the Public Health Department at the Provincial Health Service. He gave the figures during an interview in Quelimane, on the sidelines of a meeting with journalists organised by The Leprosy Mission Mozambique, reports Club of Mozambique.
Mareço linked the increase, among other factors, to limited diagnostic capacity in communities and health facilities. The worst-affected districts are Alto Molócuè, Gilé, Molévala, Mocuba and Lugela. He said the province had facilities to care for patients and stressed the importance of early diagnosis, particularly when small skin patches or loss of sensation appear.
The Leprosy Mission Mozambique works with the government and mobilises volunteers in health facilities and communities. Its country director, Pedro Safrão, said the organisation operates in Alto Molócuè, Namarroi and Gilé and plans to expand its activities to other parts of the province.
The organisation plans, in particular, to build a care unit for people with leprosy in Alto Molócuè. Investments of €1.5 million are planned in Zambézie through 2028, with funding from its partners.
