Beira, Mozambique until Mozambique gained its independence from Portugal in 1975. Beira is located on the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean located between Madagascar and Mozambique. The city sits north of the mouth of the convergence of two major rivers of Mozambique: the Buzi River and the Pungwe River. The Buzi crosses across Manica and Sofala provinces to form a wide estuary. The Pungwe crosses from the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe also through Manica and Sofala provinces to Beira. The city was established in 1890 by the Portuguese and soon supplanted Sofala as the main port in the Portuguese-administered
HIV/AIDS in Mozambique according to 2001 statistics, 82 percent of HIV/AIDS expenditures were contributed to Mozambique via external sources, meaning that the government of Mozambique funded less than 20 percent of HIV/AIDS expenses themselves. In doing so, however, private institutions and foreign aid had great influence over public health policy. Further, HIV rates within the country have highlighted disparities in financial independence—with women, who, on average earn 18% of a man's salary, much more likely to turn to high-risk behaviors such as sex work to fund living expenses and education. As a result of the economic burden of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Mozambique's aid