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This exploratory research set out to survey possible points of entry for POTENCIAR programme interventions and gather methodological insights for the ethnographic research component of the programme’s analytical strategy. It wil be used alongside other analytical studies undertaken by POTENCIAR (including the health sector analysis and the political economy analyses) to identify and design programme interventions. Following an inductive method, the team sought to assess the conditions and...

Neste artigo, usamos 'diários de governação' para analisar as interações entre pessoas pobres e autoridades em contextos de Fragilidade, Conflitos e Violência (FCVAS) em Moçambique. Questionamos os significados de empoderamento e responsabilização, sob ponto de vista de pessoas pobres e marginalizadas, e procuramos perceber como essas pessoas vêem as instituições que as governam, incluindo as que as providenciam bens e serviços básicos, entre os quais os de saúde e segurança. As conclusões...

In this paper, we explore the use of a governance diaries methodology to investigate poor households’ interactions with authority in fragile, conflict and violence-affected settings in Mozambique. The research questioned the meanings of empowerment and accountability from the point of view of poor and marginalised people, with the aim of understanding what both mean for them, and how that changes over time, based on their experiences with governance. The study also sought to record how poor...

In Mozambique, development programmes have traditionally drawn on music as a means to promote social transformation by educating citizens on key social development issues. Shifting the focus from music as a teaching medium to music as a rich source of information can provide vital insights into public opinion and political ideas, and significantly impact the development of citizen engagement projects. Maximum gains for development and civil society agencies can be achieved by mainstreaming...

This report offers POTENCIAR and the British High Commission (BHC) an analysis of how power arrangements influence the main social, political, and economic factors in service provision and decentralised governance in Mozambique. The results of the study will be used to refine POTENCIAR’s strategy and approach, as well as the design of PAIs in the health sector. While PAIs address issues across multiple sectors, sector analysis will also consider potential entry points for, as well as...

As of 15 April, over 20,0001 people from Palma are forcibly displaced, in the aftermath of Non-State Armed Group (NSAG) attacks on 24 March. They fled to the districts of Nangade, Mueda, Montepuez and Pemba by land, foot, air and sea. This is in addition to the nearly 700,000 already displaced in the provinces of Cabo Delgado, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala and Zambezia as a result of violence and insecurity in Cabo Delgado. UNHCR received reports that several families from Palma attempted to seek...

Em Moçambique, a sociedade civil aponta falta de transparência e pede esclarecimentos ao Governo sobre os 14 mil contratos sem concurso público e os 68 mil milhões de meticais gastos durante o estado de emergência.

This study examines Mozambican popular music to investigate three questions: Are notions of empowerment and accountability present in popular music in Mozambique? If so, what can these existing notions of empowerment and accountability reveal about relations between citizens and state institutions in general and about citizen-led social and political action in particular? In what ways is popular music used to support citizen mobilisation in Mozambique? The discussion is based on an analysis...

Abstract: The central aim of this text is to show the impact institutions have on the performance of the health sector in Mozambique. The text shows that of the social determinants of health, institutions play a central role in the performance of the Mozambican health sector—and, through it, economic and social development—particularly for the poorer and more vulnerable, such as children, women, the disabled, and the elderly. It is also argued that the deficiencies and inefficiencies of the...

Este texto tem por objectivo central mostrar o impacto que as instituições têm no desempenho do sector da Saúde em Moçambique. No texto demonstra-se que, de entre os Determinantes Sociais da Saúde, as instituições têm um papel central no desempenho do sector da Saúde — e, por seu intermédio, no desenvolvimento económico e social — dos moçambicanos, em especial dos mais pobres e mais vulneráveis, como as crianças, as mulheres, as pessoas com deficiência e os idosos. Argumenta-se também que as...

Background: Legal empowerment and social accountability are two strategies that are increasingly used to address gaps in healthcare in low- and middle-income countries, including failure to provide services that should be available and poor clinical and interpersonal quality of care. This paper is an explanatory case study of a legal empowerment effort that employs community paralegals and trains Village Health Committees (VHCs) in Mozambique. The research objective was to explore how...

This policy brief, apart from describing the dilemmas of the democratization process of health services it, aims to analyze its implications on the dynamics of social accountability in the health sector and, finally, to inform on possible ways for a more coherent democratization, considering the normative discourses

Corruption through opaque public contracts costs Africa billions of dollars in revenue loss annually. Globally, initiatives to address this have centred on information disclosure (ID) but under what conditions does it work to promote accountability in the extractive sector that for a long time has seen its revenue management as being a major cause of conflict in Africa? Our study on this issue in Mozambique reveals intriguing findings, which suggest that protagonists of ID would need to...

A economia de Moçambique encontra-se num ponto de viragem, e os esforços para abordar as vulnerabilidades em matéria de governação e corrupção podem ter um impacto positivo duradouro. Já tomámos medidas para abordar as vulnerabilidades em matéria de governação e corrupção. Contudo, reconhecemos que subsistem falhas em diversas áreas relevantes da economia. A fim de abordar algumas das debilidades restantes, temos reformas de governação em curso e em perspectiva em várias áreas, muitas...

Inequality is a key political issue of our times. It has political consequences, fuelling conflict and raising legitimacy chal‑ lenges for regimes around the world, in democratic and non‑demo‑ cratic settings alike. At the centre of these challenges is the question of accountability: who can be held accountable, on what basis, how and by whom for tackling or failing to tackle which inequalities. In the field of global health, inequality has long been a key issue. A significant body of work —...

As I explored in my previous blog, the health sector and provision of health services in Mozambique is an uneven playing field. Since 1980 it has been shaped by a range of donors who have strategically positioned themselves according to their political weight and ability to contribute with ‘commodities’ and financial resources.  Although donors’ contributions […]

A recent study on information disclosure in the extractive sector has found 18 factors that result in citizen and institutional (state and non-state) inaction in demanding government accountability. Conducted by the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR) in collaboration with the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), as part of the Action for Empowerment and Accountability (A4EA) research programme, the study shows that citizens and/or institutions are unlikely to...

This article aims to understand the inversion of roles between the state and citizens, by exploring its historical roots and current implications for processes of social accountability in Mozambique, particularly in the health sector. This is a practice-based reflection grounded in the evidence collected through the implementation of Community Scorecards in the health sector in 13 districts of Mozambique. The evidence has revealed a transfer of responsibilities from local governance...

Recommendations: 1. On planning and budgeting, greater coordination is recommended between planning (setting priorities) and budgeting (financial apportionment). Transformation of all District Health Services, Women and Social Action (SDSMAS) into Management Beneficiary Units (MBU) is necessary. 2. Stakeholders should bet more on application of national public financial management systems (PFM). The use of parallel financial systems instead of enabling the National Health System (NHS) to be...

The objective of the baseline survey is to analyze and document the situation around accountability, transparency and governance of the O&G sector in the country prior to the implementation of the Oxfam project. It focuses on a selected group of indicators chosen for the country program logical framework, identified and approved in the Baseline Inception Phase. A total of 33 people were interviewed in the context of this baseline. This was accompanied by a thorough national and international...