Marta Simone is a maternal and child health nurse assigned to the Instituto Agrário de Chimoio Health Center, known as IAC, in Vanduzi District, Manica Province, Mozambique. Her energy and dedication have become her trademark, making her well known among those who regularly visit the health facility. From the first encounter, it’s clear she is a professional who knows exactly what she is doing.
In Mozambique, the maternal and child health nurse is a frontline health professional within the National Health Service. Her responsibilities include health promotion, disease prevention and direct care for women, newborns and children at all levels of care. After participating in a VillageReach training on human papillomavirus (HPV) awareness and vaccination as part of the Peer-to-Peer Learning to Improve HPV Vaccine Coverage project, Nurse Marta has strengthened her ability to reach adolescents, caregivers and community members with clear information about cervical cancer prevention.
In family planning and sexual and reproductive health, she provides counseling and contraceptive methods, promotes screening and helps prevent sexually transmitted infections, including HPV transmission among adolescents and mother-to-child HIV transmission. The training, held in May by VillageReach, came at the right time for Nurse Marta; she has added another string to her formidable bow.
A Commitment to Learning
Marta (right) on a group exercise during the training
The training brought together health professionals and community actors involved in implementing co-created interventions developed through ideation, prototyping, prioritization and planning workshops across Vanduzi District. It also introduced practical communication tools, including pictorial educational cards, posters, an illustrated booklet and a facilitator guide to support clear conversations about HPV and vaccination.
Although she is a health professional, much of what she learned about HPV was new and valuable to her: “Now that I am trained, I feel more confident and secure in what I do.”
She found the facilitators’ methodology effective, allowing her to absorb the information and master the materials she received for use in her sessions. She highlighted the educational posters on HPV, designed to support health education sessions, and the illustrated booklet with detailed information on HPV. She particularly appreciated the facilitator guide, which offers suggestions on how to use the educational materials effectively and communicate clearly. The guide helps her deliver precise, consistent messages about the HPV vaccine, facilitate discussions with adolescent girls, caregivers and community members, address common concerns and myths about HPV with confidence and build trust while encouraging informed decisions about vaccination.
Talks Beyond the Health Facility
Marta talking to children in the community
It has become a tradition to hold health talks at the health facility in front of patients, usually early in the morning when most people arrive looking for services. Using posters and pictorial cards, Marta now gives health talks on HPV and cervical cancer prevention.
During our visit, Marta interacted with different groups. She met with students at the IAC in a lively session that showed strong interest among the youth, who made up most of the audience.
She then visited a local community, where she met adolescents, women and children. Marta explained how HPV is transmitted and emphasized that health facilities are prepared to vaccinate girls, with a special focus on those around age 9. The women showed curiosity about cervical cancer. In response, Nurse Marta explained the importance of screening, diagnosis and referral for treatment.
“All is lost for those who discover they have cancer. That’s why it’s important to go beyond the health facility,” she said.
Marta talking to mothers in health center
Marta’s days have changed. Her schedule now includes attending to patients who visit the health facility and traveling to densely populated communities to share information. Devoting herself to HPV prevention has become a passion, and she believes that through this work, she can help protect many girls who are at risk.
Her work also reflects a much larger goal. The World Health Organization’s global strategy calls for countries to reach the 90-70-90 targets by 2030: 90% of girls fully vaccinated against HPV by age 15, 70% of women screened with a high-performance test by ages 35 and 45, and 90% of women with cervical disease receiving appropriate treatment. These targets are designed to put countries on the path toward eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem.
For Marta, that global goal begins with the people in front of her: the adolescent girl who needs accurate information before she is exposed to HPV, the caregiver who needs reassurance, the woman who needs screening and the community member who needs to hear that prevention is possible. By taking HPV education beyond the health center, Marta is helping turn cervical cancer prevention from a clinical message into a community conversation that can save lives.