MAPUTO, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Mozambican government launched on Thursday an inquiry into the impact of HIV/AIDS at the country's central and northern regions.
It was the second phase of such survey, after the first one that took place from April to June in southern and central regions covering more than 5,000 families.
The official launching ceremony was presided over by the Minister of Health, Armindo Tiago, in the northern province of Nampula.
"What we are starting today will take place in the provinces of Zambezia, Tete, Nampula, Cabo Delgado and Niassa, until February 2022," said Tiago, adding that the results will be published in next July.
Tiago called on the public to participate in the inquiry, adding that the data will help the authorities in planning and adopting better policies to control the disease, which claimed 38,000 lives in the last year alone.
"The survey has the particularity of measuring the seroprevalence and evaluating the performance of the treatment for the patients," said the minister.
According to the Mozanbican Ministry of Health (MISAU), the country registered 98,000 new HIV infections in 2020.
The MISAU estimates that there are currently around 2.1 million people living with HIV in the country, which has a population of nearly 30 million. Enditem
