Ver Angola

Health

Government wants to resume medicine production

The Minister of Health, Silvia Lutucuta, expressed this Wednesday the intention to resume the production of medicines, especially those of prime necessity, stressing that there is "Angolan human capital in the pharmaceutical area".

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The minister, who was answering journalists' questions at a press conference in Luanda, where she presented the latest epidemiological assessment of covid-19, said the country wants to resume production of medicines.

"We are not manufacturing, we had our Angomédica factory, but it was deactivated. We are trying to find solutions to reactivate, even if it is a public-private partnership, to start manufacturing essential medicines," she said.

Sílvia Lutucuta said that Angola already has "some human capital in the pharmaceutical area", but it is necessary to "increase other skills and increase investment in these areas so that, at least, essential medicines can begin to be produced" in the country.

In May last year, the government revoked the privatisation of the Angomédica company, cancelling a decision taken in the previous government, by José Eduardo dos Santos.

At issue is the executive decree of 27 May 2016, which authorised the privatisation of that state company, which has since been annulled, with the government stating that the process did not take place for reasons attributable to the SUNINVEST group.

A joint executive decree of the Ministries of Finance and Health of 21 May 2019 stated that this revocation was due to the need to regularise the situation and 'as a result, the previously taken privatisation decision was rendered null and void'.

The situation regarding this contract came to light in February 2019, after the visit that the President, João Lourenço, made to Angomédica, a former medicine factory, built by the State in Luanda.

During that visit, Minister Sílvia Lutucuta said that Angomédica, where the Central de Compras de Medicamentos e Meios Técnicos (CECOMA), an institution of the Ministry of Health, is currently located, was privatized in 2014.

To remain in that space, the minister said at the time, the government pays a monthly rent of 3.5 million kwanzas to SUNINVEST, including the costs of energy, water and maintenance of the building.

According to the minister, in 2005 the Ministry of Health signed a contract with SUNINVEST for the exploitation of Angomédica, which established that the latter would pay 5 percent of production.

"We still think that Angomédica still belongs to the state, it's state property and we're going to work to find out and move this unit to state property," said Silvia Lutucuta on the occasion.

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