Africa-Press – Cape verde. The President of the Republic, José Maria Neves, highlighted this Monday in Porto the excellence of the cooperation between Portugal and Cape Verde, especially in the area of health, which he described as historic.
The Head of State, who is on the second of six days of his visit to Portugal, as part of the fifth edition of his presidency in the diaspora, spoke to the press after visiting the São João Hospital and the Santo António Local Health Unit (ULSSA) in Porto.
“In the area of health, Cape Verde and Portugal have a very strong relationship, I would say one of excellence, from the very first moment of our independence. We have grown significantly in the training of doctors and nurses and in the transfer of patients. Today we are at another level, with new challenges in Cape Verde and here as well, with new information technologies,” stated José Maria Neves.
The same source stressed that cooperation will continue to be strengthened, with the opening of “new avenues” that will be much more effective for the substantial improvement of the provision of health services in Cape Verde.
According to him, Portugal has already followed a path that can serve as inspiration, and its developed policies can be disseminated to Cape Verde.
In this sense, he stated that “new paths” are being studied for the training of specialists in Cape Verde to treat different diseases within the country.
As an example, he recalled that until recently almost all kidney patients were transferred to Portugal, but that currently, with the cooperation between the two countries, Cape Verde has two hemodialysis centers and has already performed its first kidney transplant with the support of Portuguese specialists.
José Maria Neves also highlighted the role of the São João Hospital, considered a “reference” for both countries, which continues to receive patients transferred from Cape Verde in the areas of Ophthalmology, Oncology, Cardiology, Orthopedics, and other areas of care.
Neves assured that Cape Verde and Portugal will continue working along these lines to reduce medical transfers, recalling that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Portugal supported the archipelago by sending a team of doctors and equipment.
“Health is an area where cooperation is at an excellent level and, more than that, has produced excellent results for Cape Verde. Hospitals, the Ministry of Health, and universities have made a very strong contribution,” said the Head of State.
Finally, he highlighted that the Medicine course in Cape Verde is conducted in cooperation with the University of Coimbra.
During the morning, José Maria Neves met with the mayor of Porto, Pedro Duarte.
In the afternoon, a meeting is scheduled with mayors from the municipalities in the North and Central regions twinned with Cape Verdean municipalities, to promote the strengthening of decentralized cooperation. This meeting will include the presence of the president of the Association of Municipalities of Cape Verde (AMCV), Fábio Vieira, and will also include a visit to the facility that houses Cape Verdean patients transferred to Portugal for treatment.
On Tuesday, the third day of the visit, the Head of State will focus his actions on the municipalities of Braga, Barcelos, and Guimarães.
Highlights include meetings with mayors, a courtesy visit to the Archbishop Primate of Braga, Dom José Cordeiro, and the ceremony to award an honor to Olympic athlete António Zeferino.
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