Mozambique has faced numerous challenges since it became independent from Portugal in 1975, including severe drought, civil war, and the world's fifth-highest HIV infection rate.

Mozambique has seen its economy improve since the mid-1990s; however, more than half the population remains below the poverty line, mostly relying on subsistence agriculture for their food and livelihoods. According to a 2014 estimate, 1.5 million people, or more than 10 percent of the adult population, are living with HIV and AIDS.

The country also has high infant mortality rates, with 70 deaths per 1,000 live births, and nearly 90 percent of people living in rural areas lack improved sanitation facilities. Slightly more than one-third of rural residents have a clean drinking-water source. This leaves children particularly vulnerable to serious disease, including diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, malaria and dengue fever.

ChildFund has served children in Mozambique since 2005.