Luanda - A large cancer hospital is to come into operation next year to exclusively treat various types of cancer in children and adults, president João Lourenço, announced Friday in Luanda.
Speaking to the press after inaugurating the Cacuaco Heróis de Kifangondo General Hospital, the Head of State said, without adding further details, that the hospital to be located in the country's capital, Luanda, would be up and running by the end of next year.
The president acknowledged that Angola still doesn't have the capacity to treat a large number of cancer patients, which is why it is one of the exceptions made by the medical board for treatment outside the country.
João Lourenço explained that the government is paying attention to patients with this disease, starting with investments in small oncology wards in tertiary hospitals.
The president recalled that the main focus is on building infrastructures with the capacity to deal with two types of pathology, those of the cardiac and renal forums, underling that the work is not yet finished, despite the construction of many hospitals at various levels, the country's needs and the growing population mean that hospital units will continue to be built in other locations.
João Lourenço announced that in the coming weeks a large hospital will be inaugurated in Ondjiva city, southern Cunene province, to replace the one that was destroyed by a major fire.
Pharmaceutical industry
João Lourenço guaranteed the government’s commitment to bring the pharmaceutical industry to the country to reduce the import of medicines and lower their cost.
The president confirmed that the investment will be entirely private and that it will be up to the state to provide all the facilities possible to make this type of business viable.
Growth of the National Health System
Since 2017, the government has invested in the construction, expansion and rehabilitation of more than 163 new health units, 155 of which are for primary care, while access to primary health care has tripled, from 25% to 70%.
The National Health Service now has 13 Central and Specialty Hospitals, six Institutes, 23 General and Provincial Hospitals, 172 Municipal Hospitals, 800 Health Centers and 2,311 Health Posts, making up 3,325 units.
In 2017, only three provinces had specialized hemodialysis services, while by 2022 that number increased to ten provinces, with a service capacity of more than three thousand users a week.
Eight national reference hospitals have been built from scratch.
As a result, the portfolio of projects at central level includes 31 public investment projects, including 14 general hospitals, three tertiary-level mother and child hospitals, 10 specialized treatment units, in particular the future Burn Hospital, Oncology Hospital, Trauma Hospital and Ophthalmology Hospital.
The Neves Bendinha Specialized Hospital, the Caxito General Hospital in Viana and the Main Military Hospital have already been reopened, with plans to open the general hospitals in Sumbe, Ondjiva, Ndalatando, the Pedalé General Hospital (in Luanda) and the Luau Municipal Hospital.
The Catumbela, Bailundo, Dundo and Malanje General Hospitals will also be built and the Mbanza Kongo General Hospital completed.
At local level, under the Municipality Intervention Plan PIIM, 163 health units are under construction to increase coverage at local level.
At least 41,093 new professionals joined the public health service, including doctors, nurses, diagnostic and therapeutic technicians, hospital support technicians and general technicians.
Practically all the doctors trained in the country and abroad have been hired, with roughly 80 percent of the employees being placed in the municipalities and 53,461 health employees promoted.
By 2027, around 10,800 doctors and 78,500 nurses are expected to be hired to join the health facilities under construction and to be built. VIC/TED/AMP
