Luanda – The Vice-President of the Republic, Esperança da Costa, showed solidarity this Saturday, in Luanda, with the cancer patients of the country during a visit made to the Angolan Institute for Cancer Control (IACC).
At the facility, which according to the management has an average daily attendance of between 300 and 500 cases, Esperança da Costa received information regarding the extension and equipping of its operating theatre, and the areas that integrate it, and of the radiotherapy department, having visited the paediatric area as well.
Speaking to the press at the end of the visit, the Vice-President of the Republic stressed the fact that statistics show that cancer is one of the main causes of death worldwide.
“In Angola, unfortunately, it is no different with our statistics, from January to October, registering about 1,172 new cases, which is quite worrying”, she added.
The Vice President added that “Taking into account that the conditions for care were not the most adequate, the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, decided that we should make a new intervention in this unit with an operating theatre that, in fact, could give better working conditions and tools to effectively obtain better results”.
She also stressed that due to the fact that, in this unit, several patients are hospitalised, especially children, the Executive will continue to look to it with more attention, as well as direct more efforts to help many situations that still persist.
On the other hand, she stressed the fact that a new building is being built on the perimeter of the institution, which will contain all laboratory structures to facilitate diagnosis, as well as intensified preventive actions, due to the fact that the death rate is still high, mainly due to the population´s lack of knowledge.
The Ministry of Health worked, in October and November, on several awareness raising actions regarding breast and prostate cancers, which, added to uterine cancer, have the highest prevalence and mortality rates.
The Vice President said that the government would also continue to focus its efforts on the new National Oncological Hospital, to be built near the Dom Alexandre do Nascimento hospital, in Luanda.
On his turn, the director of the Angolan Institute for Cancer Control (IACC), Fernando Miguel, stressed the fact that the investments made by the Government, mainly in the new operating room and radiotherapy area, allowed for a “sudden” turnaround in the improvement of the quality of care at the institution.
Fernando Miguel said that greater investment in these areas was long overdue, and the institution now has a modern operating theatre, improved intensive care, recovery and hospitalisation in better conditions.
“With this stimulus we are now more prepared to face the challenges that this disease presents”, he said.
However, he stressed the need for the country to continue to make a greater effort in terms of staff training, equipment and technology acquisition, as well as in the prevention field.
At the end of the visit, Vice-President Esperança da Costa offered two ambulances and a mini-bus to the institution, in order to facilitate the support services.
During the visit of the Vice President to the Angolan Institute for Cancer Control (IACC), the minister of State for Social Affairs, Dalva Ringote, the minister of Health, Sílvia Lutucuta, and the minister of Social Action, Family and Women Promotion, Ana Paula Sacramento Neto, among other responsible persons, were also present.
