Maputo, Mozambique

Spring 2025

Description

GHP and the Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA have established strong relationships with the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) School of Medicine, and with the faculty leadership at the Central Hospital of Maputo, the primary medical school and teaching hospital in the country, respectively. Mozambique is home to over 15 million children aged 0–14 and has some of the highest neonatal and childhood mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa. An estimated 60% of the population lives in extreme poverty, defined by the World Bank as living on less than $2.15 per day. There is a huge shortage of human resources for health, including physicians: only a small number of Mozambican pediatricians and very few pediatric subspecialists and pediatric surgeons serve the entire country.

We are pleased to offer a clinical rotation in Pediatrics in Mozambique in the spring of 2025. This global health elective provides broad exposure in the delivery of care to an extremely underserved pediatric population at this referral center. The major emphasis of this rotation will be in the inpatient setting at the 1500 bed Maputo Central Hospital (HCM), with additional opportunities to work in ambulatory settings. Students may rotate on the pediatric infectious diseases ward, the infant ward, the malnutrition ward, and on the general pediatrics service, gaining broad exposure to medical problems including HIV-AIDS, tuberculosis, diarrhea and dehydration, malnutrition, and malaria. In addition, students will have opportunities to learn about the medical education and the health care delivery system in Mozambique.

While in Mozambique, students will be supervised by a UCLA pediatric faculty member living in Maputo, Dr. Chris Buck, and by UEM pediatric faculty at Central Hospital of Maputo. Students will alsohave opportunities to work with pediatric residents and medical students from UEM.

The rotation in Mozambique has been developed with formal goals and objectives. We are seeking students with an interest in caring for underserved populations, and those with enthusiasm for global health, HIV, infectious diseases, and health service delivery in resource poor settings. Students will be expected to demonstrate the highest level of maturity, professionalism, and cultural sensitivity. While proficiency in Portuguese is ideal, it is not required for this rotation; however, students must have at least conversational Spanish skills in order to participate in this elective.

Details

Students will receive roundtrip airfare and $1,000 of additional support for the Mozambique clinical rotation. These funds will offset the cost of in-country accommodation and food. Students will need to cover the remaining expenses from other funds, as the cost of this rotation will likely exceed the amount provided through the Global Health Program.

Participation in this rotation will likely include a short 10-minute interview with Dean Miller once applications have been reviewed. Students selected for this rotation are required to participate in a mandatory full-day pre-departure training program in Los Angeles on Saturday, January 11, 2025. Upon return home from Mozambique, students will be expected to provide feedback through written evaluations and to participate in a mandatory lunchtime feedback session on Thursday, May 29, 2025. Separate from this, students will be asked to attend a site-specific debrief to be arranged upon return from Mozambique and prior to graduation.

Rotation dates for this elective have been confirmed. Students applying to this three-week elective must be able to commit to this elective from April 14, 2025, through May 2, 2025. Note that a April 14 start date will require departure from the U.S. by April 11, 2025, at the latest.

Questions regarding this rotation should be directed to Dr. Traci Wells at TWells@mednet.ucla.edu.