Africa-Press – Angola. Angola has contributed five million dollars to the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Fund, with a view to strengthening the health system on the continent, the director-general of the institution, Jean Kaseya, announced yesterday. Speaking to the press at the end of an audience with the Head of State and President of the African Union, João Lourenço, at the Palácio da Cidade Alta, the official stated that Angola’s initiative is beneficial and could encourage other countries on the continent to contribute as well.
Jean Kaseya, who was accompanied by the Minister of Health, Sílvia Lutucuta, stressed that with this step Angola has set an example that if everyone contributes and makes the health institution strong, it will be easier to attract external funding.
The official highlighted another financing initiative to address health in the African context, in a joint effort with the United Arab Emirates, which foresees the signing, next June, of a guide on the African response to the health situation.Kaseya said that the laudable initiatives to be taken at the level of Africa and the Angolan Head of State, as President of the African Union, will coordinate all these actions, with a view to responding to the health deficit on the continent.
The Director-General of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention praised the level of awareness of President João Lourenço, when he stressed that strong institutions in Africa can attract more investment. Kaseya justified his presence in the country with the fact that the President of the Republic does not currently lead only Angola, but also the continent, leading the African Union, and, therefore, as the person responsible for the health sector in Africa, he has the obligation to regularly provide some information on the sector and the challenges.
In Luanda, the Director-General of the CDC delivered donations consisting of medicines and vaccines against cholera to deal with the outbreak that has devastated the country.Jean Kaseya congratulated the Angolan government for its intense work in combating cholera. “Angola is working very hard to respond to this epidemic. There are countries with smaller populations, but with more cases of contamination and deaths”, he said, praising the way the disease is being fought in the country.
“Angola has been very well guided in stopping the spread of this epidemic, so that it does not affect more populations”, he stressed.
Country to have a factory for treated mosquito nets
The director-general of the Center for Disease Control announced that the country will have a factory for treated mosquito nets to also serve the continent, especially neighboring countries.
Jean Kaseya said, in this regard, that one of the largest companies producing treated mosquito nets in the world will bring one of its headquarters to Angola, which is currently a great achievement, considering the challenges the Government is facing in the fight against malaria.
“We would like to thank the President of the Republic for all the initiatives that Angola has taken to make this a reality,” he concluded.
The Africa CDC mission in Angola is part of the regional efforts to contain and eradicate cholera on the African continent by 2030, in line with the Global Initiative to Eliminate Cholera.The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is a specialized technical agency of the African Union, established to strengthen the capacity and leadership of African Member States in responding to public health threats.
Its primary mandate is to support countries on the continent in preventing, detecting early and responding effectively to disease outbreaks, health emergencies and epidemics. It was officially launched in January 2017 and is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The establishment of the Africa CDC was a response to the weaknesses highlighted during the Ebola epidemic in West Africa (2014-2016), which highlighted the urgent need for a robust continental institution to coordinate public health actions.
Its main functions include epidemiological surveillance and the collection of health data at continental level, rapid response to outbreaks and public health emergencies, technical capacity building of Member States’ health systems, training public health professionals in areas such as field epidemiology, laboratory and scientific research, in addition to coordinating cross-border health actions and promoting strategic partnerships with international organizations.Africa CDC also promotes the harmonization of health policies among African countries, contributing to a coordinated approach in the fight against infectious and chronic diseases.
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