Dr. Lurdes Nhabomba

Dr. Lurdes Nhabomba is an obstetrician and gynaecologist practising at Hospital Central de Maputo, Mozambique's national referral hospital and the highest-level facility in the country's public health system. With 14 years of experience in the maternity department, Dr. Nhabomba has managed thousands of deliveries ranging from uncomplicated vaginal births to the most severe obstetric emergencies encountered in a sub-Saharan African tertiary centre. Mozambique carries one of the highest maternal mortality burdens in the world, and Dr. Nhabomba has dedicated her career to improving emergency obstetric outcomes within HCM's high-dependency maternity unit. She trained in Maputo and has supplemented her local training with structured programmes in emergency obstetric care provided by international partners including AMDD (Averting Maternal Death and Disability). She is fluent in Portuguese and Changana, communicating directly with patients from the Maputo province and the wider southern region. She leads HCM's clinical supervision programme for midwives and obstetric nurses, and she regularly trains junior doctors in lifesaving skills including manual removal of placenta, bimanual compression for postpartum haemorrhage, and crash caesarean technique.

Dr. Nhabomba received her MBChB from the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo. She completed her specialist training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology within the same institution, gaining her MMed qualification after four years of supervised training across HCM's antenatal, intrapartum, postnatal, and gynaecology wards. She holds a Certificate in Emergency Obstetric Care from the AMDD programme and has attended colposcopy and cervical cancer screening training supported by the Mozambican National Cancer Programme (PRONACANCER).

Dr. Nhabomba's clinical focus is on high-risk pregnancy and obstetric emergency management. She has extensive experience managing pre-eclampsia and eclampsia with limited pharmaceutical resources, postpartum haemorrhage using surgical and non-surgical haemostatic techniques, and ectopic pregnancy requiring emergency laparotomy. She performs caesarean sections, including emergency and perimortem procedures, and is skilled in vacuum-assisted delivery. In gynaecology, she manages cervical pathology using colposcopy and LLETZ, performs hysterectomies for fibroids and obstetric complications, and counsels women with HIV-related gynaecological conditions. She also runs an outpatient gynaecology clinic for the diagnosis and management of uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, and menstrual disorders.

Dr. Nhabomba has contributed to Mozambican Ministry of Health assessments of facility-based maternal mortality and near-miss audits conducted within HCM. She has participated in WHO-coordinated multi-country surveys on emergency obstetric care capacity in southern Africa. Her departmental quality improvement work has focused on reducing delays in caesarean section for women with obstructed labour, and she has presented findings at regional obstetric conferences in Maputo.

HCM receives obstetric referrals from across southern Mozambique as well as from patients in neighbouring countries who require specialist obstetric care. Dr. Nhabomba is able to consult international patients and diaspora women seeking antenatal care or gynaecological assessment during visits to Mozambique. She communicates in Portuguese and can work with English-speaking patients through the hospital's interpreting services. Women travelling to Maputo for obstetric care should contact HCM's maternity outpatient department to arrange an antenatal consultation. Dr. Nhabomba is particularly experienced in managing HIV-positive pregnant women, which is relevant for patients from southern African countries with high HIV burden.

Dr. Nhabomba has been recognised by the Sociedade Moçambicana de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia for her contribution to training and capacity building in emergency obstetric care. She has received acknowledgement from international partners including AMDD for her leadership in implementing standardised obstetric emergency protocols within HCM's maternity unit. Colleagues and patients recognise her for her composed clinical presence during high-pressure obstetric emergencies.