The new grant from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) global fund for the period 2021-2024 was presented in Luanda and is aimed mainly at the provinces of Benguela and Cuanza Sul.
It translates into the injection of 103.2 million donors (87.7 million euros) into the health system, as well as into community systems, within the framework of a new subnational approach whose results may dictate its extension to other provinces, according to a joint statement from UNDP and the Ministry of Health of Angola (MINSA).
The investment sets ambitious goals for combating these diseases.
With regard to malaria, the funding aims to reduce the number of deaths to 19 per 100 thousand inhabitants and the positivity rate to 35 percent by 2023 and ensure that at least 90 percent of the population of Benguela and Cuanza Sul use nets. mosquito nets impregnated with long-lasting insecticide, also providing for testing and treatment of 100 percent of suspected cases of malaria.
As for tuberculosis, the objective is to reduce the incidence to 320 per 100,000 inhabitants and the mortality rate to 40 per 100,000 inhabitants by 2023, also increasing the number of notified cases.
In HIV, it is about keeping the prevalence rate at around 1.1 percent in the general population and decreasing the percentage of new infections in children of HIV-positive mothers to 4 percent by 2023. The grant also aims to reduce the number new infections among key and vulnerable populations and increase antiretroviral treatment coverage.
The funding also provides support services to combat covid-19, such as the provision of personal protective equipment for health workers, community services, tests and other diagnostic products, and oxygen equipment for severe cases.
In Angola, in the 2016-2024 period, UNDP has already helped the country to mobilize US$157 million in approved grants and obtain an additional US$26 million in additional funds under the covid-19 response mechanism.
