The Secretary of State for International Cooperation (SECI), Pilar Cancela Rodríguez, visited Mozambique to highlight the projection of Spanish Cooperation in Sub-Saharan Africa and sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Health of Mozambique and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
The agreement will help consolidate and continue collaboration in such priority areas as primary healthcare, training in medical specialisations, the exchange of experiences between professionals and access to health resources by the people of Mozambique through support for the Common Health Fund (PROSAUDE).
Pilar Cancela also sought to highlight Spain’s support for research projects such as the one developed by the Health Research Centre in Manhiça, in the understanding that “there can be no development without health and this remains our primary objective in Mozambique”.
This is the first visit by the SECI to Mozambique following the approval of the Law on Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity, and it seeks to step up relations between the two countries in the field of development cooperation, which began back in the 1980s and was again strengthened in 2021, following the signing of a new Country Association Framework (MAP) which will remain in force until 2024.
“Spain has always stood by Mozambique, above all during the toughest times, such as the cyclones, and in the field of research”, stated Pilar Cancela at the presentation of the book “40 Years of Spain-Mozambique Cooperation” alongside the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique, Manuel Gonçalves.
Pilar Cancela also visited the project “Contributing to the right to the city: access to tenure and to resilient services and infrastructures in Chamanculo”, which helps facilitate and improve the lives of women in 239 families. The visit concluded with the presentation of the Covenant of Mayors project in Sub-Saharan Africa, an important catalyst for climate action which has the political commitment of more than 293 local governments.
The Secretary of State visited the project “Contributing to the defence, guarantee and exercise of a life free of violence for women in Maputo”, at the Integral Attention Centre for Women who are Victims of Gender-based Violence at Mavalane Hospital, where she spoke with female survivors and participants of the Psycho-Social Support Group set up at the Centre.
Her busy schedule was completed with a visit to the Legal and Judicial Training Centre and Mozambique Association of Judges in the context of the delegated cooperation project “Support to Combat Corruption in Mozambique” in the field of justice.
By undertaking this visit, Pilar Cancela clearly highlighted some of the key aspects of the new Law on Cooperation, such as the inclusion of Africa among the geographic priorities, particularly the Portuguese-speaking countries; and the rapprochement with Spanish Cooperation workers on the ground and the interest in the conditions in which they carry out their work.
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