Madrid - The Head of State, João Lourenço, received this Wednesday, in Madrid, Spain, a book entitled "The Art of Saving Life", as recognition of his efforts in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as his commitment towards the contingency issues to immunize the populations.
The work, awarded by Global Alliance for Vaccines (GAVI), is an art collection dedicated to the theme of saving lives, which had a limited edition.
Speaking at the ceremony, João Lourenço thanked the support of partners, including the COVAX Initiative, Gavi, World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), as well as the Spanish government, for the success of the vaccination program against Covid-19.
He informed that the partnerships with GAVI, WHO and UNICEF are of utmost importance for health in Angola, Africa and worldwide.
On his turn, GAVI´s Chairman, Durão Barroso, highlighted the ongoing reforms in Angola and the way the country fought the Covid-19 pandemic.
The award ceremony which was guided by the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, on the sidelines of GAVI's first Global Vaccine Impact Conference, brings together, until Thursday (15th), several world statesmen.
It should be remembered that since 2018, President João Lourenço has devoted special attention to public health, mainly to address the global health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has infected thousands of Angolans.
To control the expansion of the virus and avoid the collapse of the National Public Health System, the Angolan Government has made a strong investment in the construction of hospitals and diagnostic centers, and in the purchase of vaccines.
As part of the vaccination campaign, the Angolan authorities have mobilized 35.5 million doses of safe vaccines for an eligible population of about 18 million people, from 12 years of age on.
The Angolan official figures, also shows that since the beginning of the vaccination process against Covid-19, more that 18.9 million people have been vaccinated, of which over 15.8 million with only one dose, 8.9 million with the full dose, 2.1 million with the booster doses, and 6 million citizens without the booster dose.
Government data reveals that from March 2020 until 2022, almost 40 flights were made to Beijing, China, in order to bring biosecurity material and medical equipment needed to face the pandemic.
Despite the resources made available by the government to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, Angola benefited from international donors, among countries and organizations.
Regarding hospital care, the State built, until 2022, 172 health units, which increased the number of beds to 8.492 units.
Meanwhile, government data show that up to 2022, the country had more than 33,000 hospital beds, as a result of investments made to improve health services. FMA/AL/MRA/jmc
