Mozambique

Through its groundbreaking Inform Women, Transform Lives campaign, The Carter Center partners with city leaders worldwide to raise awareness about women’s right to access information and to help cities reach women with valuable information and essential municipal services.  

Access to this information empowers women with a stronger voice, enabling them to participate in public life, utilize public services, and make more informed decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities. In Mozambique, the project has partnered with the city of Maputo. 

The National Elections Commission of Mozambique invited The Carter Center to observe the December 1999 general elections — the country’s second after its transition from civil war. Several observation teams were deployed, and the largest, around election day, included co-leaders President and Mrs. Carter. The couple returned to co-lead another mission during the presidential and legislative elections in 2004. 

The Center also deployed observation teams in 2003 and 2014. 

More information about all of these elections is available in our publications section. 

The Carter Center initiated activities to broaden the role of civil society organizations in Mozambique democratic processes in 2003 and 2004. 

We provided technical assistance and training for domestic election observers, fostered dialogue with political parties, and shared experiences from previous election observation missions. 

In 1998, the government of Mozambique asked the Carter Center’s Global Development Initiative (1993-2006) to support a national consensus-building initiative known as the Agenda 2025 National Vision and National Development Strategy Process. 

The process brought together Mozambicans from across the social and political spectrum to develop a shared, long-term vision and strategy for future development — one that identified policies to reduce poverty in the country. 

The agenda was disseminated to the public and then unanimously approved by parliament in December 2003. 

This project ended in 2006. 

Like many countries in Africa, Mozambique has long suffered from inadequate rainfall, which affects food production in the main agricultural areas of the country. In 1995, The Carter Center began working with Mozambique’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to increase food security. 

Our Work and Methods 

Led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug, this joint venture between The Carter Center and the Sasakawa Africa Association helped more than 8 million small-scale sub-Saharan African farmers in countries where malnutrition is a constant threat.  

The program provided farmers with credit for fertilizers and seeds to grow test production plots, which greatly improved crop yields. The program implemented crop diversification, developed a retail supply system, and promoted postharvest technologies for improved processing and storage. 

Participating farmers went on to teach others, creating a ripple effect to stimulate self-sufficiency. 

The Carter Center ended its agricultural activities in Mozambique in 2005.