Every sunrise signals a new day, and another opportunity for Júlia Aberto António to protect her fellow Mozambican women from Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the primary cause of cervical cancer.
Júlia knows that cervical cancer remains the most common cancer among women in Mozambique, yet she remains hopeful that more can be done. And now, as the country rolls out the recently introduced HPV vaccine, Júlia, a community health worker (CHW) from Dombe, has been selected to participate in the VillageReach training of key actors in the implementation of co-created interventions in Sussundenga and Vanduzi districts in Manica Province. CHWs play a key role in building community trust in vaccination services, educating families and improving vaccination coverage.
We joined Júlia’s training in Sussundenga to learn more.
VillageReach and BCL’s Peer-to-Peer Learning to Improve HPV Vaccine Coverage project leverages peer learning approaches to strengthen health worker capacity and address local challenges related to routine HPV vaccination. The interventions were co-created by community members of the two districts. The communities decided to focus on community engagement to empower local actors as HPV champions, including training teachers, adolescent girls, “model mothers” and health workers, such as Júlia.
Dombe, a community in Sussundenga district, is difficult to access due to its mountains and wildlife. It’s relative isolation has contribute to Dombe having lower vaccination rates. For this reason, VillageReach selected Dombe as one of its implementation zones for the project—and the results are beginning to show.
The Struggle to Support Adolescents in Dombe
Júlia is a CHW in Dombe
Promoting good health practices remains a challenge in many communities. Barriers to health care access range from illiteracy to cultural habits and persistent myths. This is the case in Dombe. Though it is home to many adolescents—Júlia does not know the exact number—Dombe remains remote. Every day, Júlia witnesses young people who have contracted preventable diseases.
Fortunately, the training in which Júlia participated took place at a moment of significant transformation for community health In Mozambique. Earlier this year, the government approved and published Law No. 3/2026, of January 21, which legally establishes the community health subsystem, signaling an increase in support and resources for CHWs. This law formally recognizes the role of CHW. It ensures the right to ongoing training, career progression, fair remuneration and access to adequate working tools—all essential conditions for the effective performance of their duties.
“It’s a constant struggle to deliver the right information,” Júlia explains. “In 2024, I decided to become a community health worker because I wanted to contribute to the health of my community. As a woman, I feel a responsibility, especially since I had the chance to go to school.” Júlia completed a basic nursing course and hopes one day to be hired at the local health center. For now, she is a dedicated CHW.
A Diverse Group of Changemakers Gather
When Júlia learned she had been selected to participate in the workshop, she felt both excited and grateful. Opportunities like this are rare in Dombe, especially when offered free of charge. Knowing how many people hope to take part in trainings like these, Júlia appreciated the chance to build new skills and strengthen HPV vaccination efforts in her community. She was inspired to join health technicians, teachers, model mothers (women leaders and community activists selected to serve as educators and agents of change) and adolescent girl peer educators, all working together to enhance service delivery, demand generation and community engagement.
During the workshop, Júlia and the other participants received educational posters, brochures and flip charts that were developed specifically to address knowledge gaps and myths that had surfaced during the earlier stages of the project. They were trained on how to communicate the key messages to different audiences and used role-playing to practice their new skills.
“I was happy to know that this training was based on interventions co-created during the ideation, prototyping, prioritization and planning workshops. That means the communities’ voices are valued,” Júlia said.
If before she had been trained to make a difference, now everything seemed to fall into place. As a health professional and mother of two, Júlia knows that other parents in her community view her as a role model and trust her guidance and recommendations when it comes to caring for children’s health. She believes she will truly make an impact in Dombe.
Markets as Spaces for Education
Júlia in Dombe Primary School, planning with teacher, Manuel Majuta, and an adolescent
On the day of our visit, Júlia was conducting education and mobilization activities alongside a teacher and a teenage peer educator. Together, they reviewed the materials and messages received during the workshop, analyzed locations for their planned talks, and selected the best content and delivery methods. For that day, they chose the local market—a place of high population concentration.
Speaking in the local language, Júlia gathered the crowd, mostly women and girls. Although she was already known in the community, she introduced herself as a CHW and explained she would be talking about HPV. Using the posters, she described what HPV is, how it spreads, ways to prevent infection, available treatments and the importance of the vaccine for women’s health.
To her delight, the messages were well received. “Here, if people don’t like what they hear, they simply walk away. But we noticed they stayed until I finished speaking and even thanked me,” she recalled after talking. This reaction showed genuine interest in learning more about HPV and, above all, how to avoid infection and disease. As for the future? Júlia believes it is healthy.
The training gave her not only new knowledge, but also stronger connections with teachers, health workers and other community leaders working to prevent cervical cancer. Through joint outreach events and ongoing collaboration, community members are finding it easier to ask questions, address concerns and speak openly about cervical cancer.
Armed with knowledge and a set of government reforms that strengthen the community health system and support frontline workers like her, Júlia and others trained through the program feel confident to continue sharing information, building trust and expanding access to HPV vaccination.
In the months ahead, more community talks and awareness sessions are planned across the district. The educational materials developed through the program will continue to be used by health workers, schools and local leaders, helping ensure that accurate information reaches more families and young people.
With stronger coordination between community actors, the effort to combat cervical cancer is becoming more unified and widespread, so that last mile communities like Dombe are no longer beyond reach.