Health in Mozambique that like many fellow Sub-Saharan African colonies, Mozambique’s health facilities were run by European Catholic missionaries in the area. The Chicuque Rural Hospital opened in 1913. Prior to the commencement of the Mozambican Civil War in 1975, the country had already been facing conditions of hardship since the 1960s. During this time, the country was plagued with violence and poverty in accordance with its struggle for independence from Portugal. Although very little is known about health initiatives in Mozambique throughout the nearly twenty-year period of violent conflict post-independence, it is known that period acted as a precursor and risk factor
People's Republic of Mozambique preceding independence, FRELIMO consolidated its presence in the south and in urban areas. This was done through the work of militant groups ("grupos dinamizadores" or "dynamic groups"), which also included Mozambicans of Portuguese origin. The period prior to independence was also marked by the settling of scores and public trials against members FRELIMO who had strayed from the FRELIMO party line. "Traitors," "reactionaries," and real or suspected agents of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency or PIDE, the Portuguese security agency. The Central Committee of FRELIMO adopted the constitution of the People's Republic of Mozambique on June 20, which established that