The mission, led by Usseene Isse, includes 22 medical workers and involves carrying out several procedures, including operations on three patients with goiter, one patient with breast cancer after chemotherapy, and one patient with an inguinal hernia, according to the Ministry of Health.
The Ministry notes that previously these five complex cases might have required transfer to other specialized medical institutions. Performing interventions directly in the province, which is the center of Mozambique, ensures 'less travel, lower costs, and greater proximity of treatment' for patients and their families.
The initiative is directly overseen by Usseene Isse, who is a 55-year-old doctor with over thirty years of experience and a specialist in general surgery, participating in the operations. In March 2025, this leader also replaced the operating room in Nampula, in the north of the country, where he led a team that removed a tumor weighing about 500 grams from a patient's neck.
At that time, the minister stated: 'I did it with great pleasure because you know my passion is being a surgeon; I enjoy operating. Despite holding this political position, I will always support it whenever possible, wherever I am.'
According to the Ministry of Health, in addition to providing care to patients awaiting treatment, the mission in Chimoio aims to enhance the qualifications of local specialists through on-the-job training, attracting surgical residents, licensed surgeons, anesthesiologists, instrument technicians, circulators, and auxiliary staff.
The Ministry emphasizes that this intervention reflects an approach aimed at ensuring higher response capacity close to the population, allowing for gradually more complex procedures to be performed in provincial medical facilities.
A dual outcome is expected: treating patients needing intervention and strengthening local capacity to respond to other cases in the future, which will gradually reduce the need to transfer patients to other institutions in the country.
The surgeries are taking place from 08:00 (07:00 Lisbon time) in the operating room of Chimoio Provincial Hospital.