MAPUTO, June 18 (Xinhua) -- At least 270 people died from malaria between January and May this year in Mozambique, which recorded over six million cases during that period, authorities have said.
Eussbio Chaquisse, an official of the Ministry of Health, reported on Tuesday that the northern province of Nampula recorded 53 deaths by May, followed by Sofala and Tete with 20 each, and Zambezia with 15 malaria-related deaths.
Chaquisse released the figure at a press conference in Maputo during the opening of the MOSASWA initiative meeting, a regional collaboration mechanism among Mozambique, Eswatini and South Africa.
Government data indicates that malaria-related deaths in the first five months of this year increased by 67 percent compared to the same period last year, when 167 deaths were recorded. The total number of cases also rose by 19 percent compared to 2024, which saw 5,183,276 cases, he said.
In April, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo said that Mozambique recorded more than 11.5 million malaria cases in 2024, along with about 67,000 hospitalizations and 358 in-hospital deaths. ■
