HIGHLIGHTS
- Mozambique has one of the world’s highest HIV burdens, requiring strong public health systems and consistent access to testing and treatment for epidemic control
- Through the U.S. Government, Abt supports Mozambique’s Ministry of Health to deliver HIV services, expanding testing, treatment, prevention, laboratory systems, and data use while reinforcing capacity to sustain these services
- Since 2019, this program has increased HIV status knowledge, expanded access to antiretroviral therapy and viral load testing, reduced mother-to-child transmission, and helped local health authorities adopt new systems and skills
PROJECT
Efficiencies for Clinical HIV Outcomes (ECHO)
The Challenge
Mozambique faces one of the world’s most severe HIV epidemics; an estimated 2.5 million people were living with HIV as of 2024. While the country has expanded HIV testing and treatment, sustaining long-term treatment remains a major challenge. Persistent challenges continue to undermine treatment adherence and overall epidemic control. These include shortages of skilled staff, inconsistent service delivery, ongoing stigma, and limited mechanisms to retain patients.
The Approach
Abt manages the U.S. Government’s Efficiencies for Clinical HIV/AIDS Outcomes (ECHO), a $239 million, seven-year PEPFAR-funded project. It supports the Government of Mozambique in four provinces to meet targets needed to end the AIDS epidemic. Popularly known as the 95-95-95 goals, these targets are: 95 percent of people living with HIV know their status, 95 percent of those are receiving treatment, and 95 percent of those are virally suppressed.
ECHO is achieving these goals by providing technical assistance; deploying thousands of health workers, community workers and data analysts to sites with poor performance; training government health workers; giving grants to community outreach organizations and provincial health authorities; and supporting government activities to strengthen crucial laboratory, transport and information systems.
The Results
ECHO, which covers 149 health facilities, achieved the following increases as of October 2025:
- Number of people living with HIV on life-saving antiretroviral treatment (ART) by 83 percent, from 207,753 to 379,495
- One-month retention of ART patients from 58 percent to 91 percent
- Three-month retention of ART patients from 74 percent to 94 percent
- Viral suppression from 78 percent to 93 percent
The project also reached 98 percent of TB cases with documented HIV status, with 91 percent linked to treatment.
In this technical brief series, Abt explores ECHO’s successful approaches, achievements, and lessons learned from more than seven years of implementation. In the project’s most recent briefs, ECHO details its successes in transferring ownership to local leaders; its innovative models to provide patient-centered, efficient care and treatment; and its strategies to achieve viral load coverage and suppression– the “third 95” of HIV epidemic control.
Read the Technical Briefs: Advancing HIV Epidemic Control in Mozambique Through Localization (abtglobal.com)
Learn more:
- Increasing Community and Facility HIV Testing in Mozambique
- Localization Expands and Improves HIV Treatment in Mozambique
- Collaborative, Locally-led Campaign Reaches More Than 180,000 With Lifesaving COVID-19 Vaccines
- Mozambique’s Cyclone Victims Maintain HIV Treatment Through Community Support | Abt Global
- Getting to 95+: Culture of Learning, Data-Use Drives Demand for HIV Services in Mozambique (Perspectives Blog)
- Mother-friendly One-Stop Model Improves Patient Experiences While Decreasing Vertical Transmission