Nazira Karimo Vali Abdula (born 1969) is a

pediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

and politician from

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. She has served as Minister of Health in the government of

Filipe Nyusi Filipe Jacinto Nyusi (; born 9 February 1959) is a Mozambican politician who was the fourth president of Mozambique from 2015 to 2025. He has also served as the Chairman of the Southern African Development Community from 2020 to 2022. During his ...

since January 19, 2015.

Biography

Abdula was born in the city of

Nampula Nampula is the capital city of Nampula Province in Northern Mozambique. With a population of 743,125 (2017 census), it is the third-largest city in Mozambique after Maputo and Matola. The city is located in the interior of Nampula Province, appro ...

Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique () or Portuguese East Africa () were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas province. Portuguese Mozambique originally constituted a str ...

in 1969. She completed her primary studies in and around Nampula before enrolling at the

Eduardo Mondlane University The Eduardo Mondlane University (; UEM) is the oldest and largest university in Mozambique. The UEM is a secular public university, unaffiliated with any religion, and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, or religion. The ...

, in

Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

, where she received her degree in medicine in 1993. Abdula began her medical residency at Maputo Central Hospital, with later work at São João do Porto Hospital in Portugal. She received her

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

Nutrition Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...

from

Flinders University Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...

in Australia in 2006. Abdula worked as a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

at Mavalane General Hospital from 1993 to 1997, where she participated in a program fighting

Malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

in the region. She also worked to combat a

Cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic at Maputo Central Hospital in 1997. She later worked closely with the

Catholic University of Mozambique The Catholic University of Mozambique (, UCM) is a university in Mozambique. UCM was founded on August 10, 1996, by the Mozambican conference of Bishops to make higher education available to central and northern Mozambique. Before UCM's creati ...

and the Institute of Science and Health in Maputo and Beira.

Political life

Abdula was named Minister of Health on January 19, 2015, the first female minister of health in Mozambique since independence in 1975. In her role, she has worked on the fight against HIV/AIDS in Mozambique for the Nyusi government, who hopes to eliminate the disease by 2030. She has worked against the theft and sale of illicit drugs as well as the sale and trafficking of counterfeit medications. Outside of her work with the government, Abdula has written several scientific articles about

antimicrobial resistance Antimicrobial resistance (AMR or AR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from antimicrobials, which are drugs used to treat infections. This resistance affects all classes of microbes, including bacteria (antibiotic resista ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdula, Nazira 1969 births Living people Women government ministers of Mozambique Health ministers of Mozambique People from Nampula Eduardo Mondlane University alumni Flinders University alumni Mozambican physicians Pediatricians