Sumbe - The new General Hospital of Sumbe, named after Commander Raúl Díaz Argüelles and with a capacity of 200 beds, started operating today, Monday, after its inauguration by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço.
Built in the town of 'Saber Andar', in the province of Cuanza-Sul, the hospital will provide services in pediatrics, gynecology, obstetrics, otorhinolaryngology, ophthalmology, surgeries, orthopedics, cardiology, intensive care, imaging and hemodialysis.
After the ribbon was cut and the plaque was unveiled, the Angolan Head of State visited the infrastructure, equipped with high-quality medical equipment.
This is a unit that reinforces the humanization of health services, with the hospital/school component, as it will promote medical specialization.
The contract for the health unit, awarded to a Swiss company specializing in health solutions (Promed International AG-Mitolli Group), has an area of 4.5 hectares out of a total of six hectares, in an investment of 63 million and 180 thousand euros.
Commitment to the Health sector
The Executive carries out a structural transformation in the National Health Service that aims to achieve universal coverage.
The bet means that the sector today has a health network consisting of 3,346 units, including 3,094 health posts and centres, 173 municipal hospitals, 23 provincial hospitals, 34 specialised hospitals and 22 central hospitals.
There was an increase of 4,899 hospital beds in the National Health Service, from 37,808 beds in 2022 to 42,707 beds in 2024.
In this way, tertiary level hospitals were built in the province of Bengo, Reverend Guilherme Pereira Inglês, Luanda with the General Hospital of Viana Bispo Emílio de Carvalho and the General Hospital of Cacuaco Heróis de Kifangondo, and in the province of Cunene with the General Hospital of Cunene General Simione Mukune.
Next November the Cuanza-Norte General Hospital will be inaugurated, which will be named after the Angolan intellectual and nationalist Mário Pinto de Andrade.
The Government is working so that by 2026, at the latest, the Porto Amboim Municipal Hospital, the Institute of Forensic Anatomy, the Mbanza Kongo General Hospital, the Pedro Maria Tonha Pedalé Hospital Complex, the Uige General Hospital, the Américo Boavida Hospital, the Huambo Pediatric Hospital, the Maternal and Child Hospital of Huíla, the new Burn Hospital in the province of Luanda, the Maternal and Child Hospital of Benguela, the General Hospital of Catumbela and the new Oncology Hospital in Luanda.
Investment in modern hospital infrastructure is improving the quality of highly complex medical care, particularly in the fields of cardiac surgery, neurosurgery and orthopaedic surgery.
To keep up with the dynamics of technological development in the field of health, the Government started this year the Robotic Surgery Implementation Program, with the support of a team of specialists from the United States of America.
It continues to consolidate its commitment to the treatment of people with kidney failure by increasing the capacity to provide hemodialysis services.
From 29 services in 2023, Angola increased to 35 in 2024, and are already available in 13 provinces with the capacity to provide humanized care for 3,625 users, and it is no longer necessary to resort outside the country to treat kidney patients.
To reduce the deficit that still exists and to keep up with the growth of the health network, a total of 46,705 health professionals of the most different categories have been hired since 2017, representing an increase of 43.6% of the workforce.
All available doctors trained in the country and abroad were included, 80% of whom were placed to provide service in the municipalities, in a clear commitment to Primary Health Care.
An ambitious plan for the specialization of health professionals is being implemented, which foresees training around 38,000 health professionals, with an emphasis on the training of family health teams for primary health care, with the aim of ensuring proximity services.
In the last year, 272 doctors completed the specialization and the specialization in Nursing of 1,498 professionals is underway.
As a result of the investment, evacuations outside the country by the National Health Board have been reduced and public health indicators, administrative services covering routine immunization, and deaths from malnutrition have improved.
The success rate in the treatment of tuberculosis has increased by 70%, the capacity for diagnosis and treatment of leprosy, as well as the number of first-level health facilities that carry out diagnosis and follow-up of hypertension and diabetes has increased by 70%.
Commander Raul Argüelles
Raúl Díaz Argüelles (1936–1975) was a Cuban commander who played an important role during Cuba's international military missions, especially operations in Africa.
He was one of the main Cuban commanders in the fight against rival groups during the Angolan civil war that followed the country's independence from Portugal in 1975.
Díaz Argüelles has been described as a dedicated and courageous military leader, having played an essential role in organizing and leading the Cuban troops sent to support the Angolan government.
He died in combat in the municipality of Ebo, in the Angolan province of Cuanza-Sul, in December 1975, during an ambush. His death was considered a great loss for the Cuban Army and for the Cuban military effort in Africa.
Commander Argüelles is remembered in Cuba as a revolutionary hero and his actions were fundamental to Cuba's relations with African countries in the 1960s and 1970s, in the context of the Cold War and Cuban support for national liberation movements. AFL/LC/ART/DOJ
