Luanda - The Minister of State for Social Affairs, Dalva Ringote, said Monday in New York, United States of America, that Angola's main development goals include ensuring the full accomplishment of the social and cultural well-being of the population.
Speaking at the 57th United Nations Session on Population and Development, the minister said the country has made significant progress in different areas, particularly in education, women's health, schooling for young people, fight against domestic violence and corruption and gender balance.
The official added that in the education sector, Angola has made notable progress, with an increase in the primary school enrolment rate to 76% by 2022.
According to the Minister of State, infant mortality fell from 65.3% per 1,000 live births in 2014 to 55.8% in 2022 and maternal mortality fell from 477 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018 to 241 in 2022.
Dalva Ringote emphasized that in the 2018-2022 period Angola saw a sharp drop of 49.6% in the vaccination coverage rate for children under one year old with PENTA, from 40% in 2017 to 61% in 2022.
The minister highlighted the significant progress made in terms of access to basic water and sanitation services, energy and decent housing, pointing out that by 2022, 72% of households had access to drinking water and the electrification rate reached 44%.
Dalva Ringote explained that within the framework of the National Development Plan (PND) 2023-2027, around 50% of the population are expected to receive energy supply, while the country aims to increase its installed energy production capacity from 6.2 gigawatts to eight gigawatts.
Another sector that was highlighted was the protection of social groups in vulnerable situations and the fight against poverty, which, according to the minister, are particularly important in terms of the government's policies.
The minister added that under the National Development Plan 2023a program to combat the effects of drought in the southern region of the country is currently underway, which enabled several ongoing actions namely the construction of Cafu Canal in 2022 with a extension to 162 Km in the Province of Cunene by benefiting million of people and animals.
According to the minister, the Angolan population is mostly young, 66% are less than 25 years old and 48% is under the age of 15, representing a demographic reality with enormous potential for harnessing the demographic dividend.
Due to this fact, the official emphasized that it contributes to integrated investment in human capital, with a special focus on education, social protection, youth empowerment and gender equality.
The minister recognized the challenges in the accomplishment of the main goals of the country in reducing the mortality of under five years old children to around 50.000 live births, expanding and improving the quality of health services and promoting sex education, with special attention to adolescents and young people.
“It is with this in mind that, by 2027, Angola has the ambitious goal of increasing the national literacy rate to around 80%, while redoubling efforts to ensure that girls remain in school, with average years of schooling still lower than for boys”, the minister said.
The Angolan government, the minister said, has committed to regularly allocated a budget for the Sexual Health and Empowerment of Girls and Learning for All programs, known as ‘PAT II’, including family planning.
To conclude her speech, the Angola minister of state for social sector, reiterated the international as well as continental commitment of the county related to the population and development strategies and objectives included in its main long-term governance instruments for 2050 and the National Development Plan 2023-2017 aligned to the 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development and with the African Union Agenda.
The minister called for support, cooperation and the sharing of experiences and knowledge between the nations in this noble mission to promote the well-being and progress of the Angolan population.
For three days, the 57th Session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development will assess the state of implementation of the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and its contribution to the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Angolan delegation includes the permanent representative of Angola to the United Nations, ambassador Francisco José da Cruz, the director of the multilateral affairs directorate of the Foreign Ministry, Sara Silva, among other organizations.
MCN/MRA/AMP
