Following the collapse of healthcare services after the March 2021 attack on Palma in Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) launched an emergency medical response to address urgent humanitarian and health needs in a context marked by insecurity, displacement and severely disrupted public services. As the situation stabilised, MSF intervention evolved from emergency care to longer‑term support aimed at restoring access to and rebuilding trust in health services.

As security conditions evolved and people progressively returned to Palma, MSF activities shifted from an emergency response to a more regular health intervention, gradually handing over activities to the Ministry of Health while ensuring services in areas without coverage. MSF continued to run mobile clinics in remote areas and provide services at the district hospital and peripheral health centres, delivering a broad package of care ranging from general outpatient consultations to maternal and child healthcare, sexual and reproductive health, mental health services, vaccinations and community‑based health promotion. A particular emphasis was placed on HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and Advanced HIV Disease (AHD) programmes – among the ones that are most severely impacted by conflict and displacement, with long‑term consequences for patients and communities.

Over the course of the project, MSF worked in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, mentoring health staff in a context of chronic human resource shortages, strengthening laboratory and referral systems, and working at peripheral health facilities to ensure continuity of care.

As health services were progressively restored, MSF concluded its project in Palma, while underlining the continued fragility of healthcare access in Cabo Delgado and the need for sustained support to meet ongoing medical needs.