The history of the National Institute of Health (INS) begins in 1955 with the founding of the then Mozambican Institute of Medical Research (IIMM). However, due to the economic, social, and political circumstances of the time (1970), this entity was renamed the Provincial Institute of Public Health (IPSP), a change that allowed the then IIMM to adapt to the new reality of the former colony of Mozambique.
In order to ensure the unity and coherence of the restructuring of the central services of the then Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, the Transitional Government (Mozambican) decreed the change of the name of IPSP to the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), considered a central body of this ministry.
However, with the advent of national independence, in August 1975 INSP was renamed the National Health Institute (INS), an institution essentially composed of the Malaria and Parasitology laboratories and integrated into the National Directorate of Preventive Medicine (DNMP) of the Ministry of Health (MISAU). At that time, the INS's mission was basically the maintenance of the aforementioned laboratories, which constituted the core of endemic disease research in Mozambique.
Com o passar do tempo, concretamente em 1980, o INS deixa de fazer parte da DNMP do MISAU e passa a responder directamente ao Ministro da Saúde. Com esta transição, o INS assumiu a responsabilidade de suportar diferentes programas do MISAU, bem como formar quadros para o alcance dos seus objectivos. Neste período (anos 80 e princípio de 90), embora o foco das suas actividades fosse a malária, o INS notabilizou-se em estudos sobre a Hepatite B e o diagnóstico dos primeiros casos de HIV no país.
Still in the 1990s, the INS underwent a series of reforms, culminating in the creation of a collegial body for technical-scientific advice to the INS Directorate, as well as the beginning of the establishment of health research units and centers.
Thus, by virtue of the restructuring initiated in previous years, in the 2000s (2004), the INS became an institution subordinate to the Ministry of Health, with the approval of its first Organic Statute. During this period, among several attributions, the INS had the function of coordinating the elaboration and adoption of the National Research Agenda, as well as conducting health research to solve Public Health problems in Mozambique.
In the 2010s, INS took on the mission of producing evidence to support the formulation of health policies in Mozambique, through the approval of the first Strategic Plan (2010-2014). During this period, the process of restructuring the institution's functional organizational chart began, moving from a classic vertical operating structure to a matrix structure, as well as the construction of its own headquarters building (2014) in order to drive the definition of its role and structure.
É nesta senda que em 2018, o INS torna-se, através da aprovação do novo Estatuto Orgânico, numa entidade de gestão, regulamentação e fiscalização das actividades de geração de evidência científica em saúde para a garantia de uma melhor saúde e bem-estar, dotada de personalidade jurídica, com autonomias administrativa e técnico-científica. Com a aprovação deste dispositivo, o INS deixa de ser subordinado e passa a ser tutelado pelo Ministro que superintende a área da Saúde, tendo iniciado com o processo de intensificação da coordenação da pesquisa a nível nacional, com a criação, recentemente, das Delegações provinciais da Cidade de Maputo, Províncias de Sofala e Nampula.
The INS has been directed by several health professionals in Mozambique, namely:
- 1977 – 1983: Dr. Jorge Cabral
- 1983 – 1989: Dr. João Schwalbach
- 1989 – 1992: Dr. Jorge Barreto
- 1992 – 1997: Dr. Rui Gama Vaz
- 1997 – 2000: Dr. Martinho Dgedge
- 2000 – 2001: Dr. Adelaide Bela Agostinho
- 2001 – 2009: Dr. João Fumane
- 2009 – 2022: Dr. Ilesh Jani
- 2023 to present: Dr. Eduardo Samo Gudo Jr.
