Huambo, November 16, 2023: To deepen knowledge about the health situation in Huambo province, strengthen dialogue and establish solid networks with local leaders, the WHO Acting Representative in Angola, Dr Humphrey Karamagi, accompanied by a team of six specialists, worked for three days in Huambo province, were the organisation with European Union Funds, is supporting local authorities with critical initiatives for meningitis fight.

During the mission, the WHO team interacted with the local government, represented by the Provincial Vice-Governor for Technical Affairs and Infrastructure, Inácio Helman, and the Vice-Governor for Social Affairs, Dr. Edmundo Ilavoco. He also held meetings with the Director of the Provincial Health Office, Dr Lucas Nhiamba, with the Deputy Administrator for Finance of the municipality of Caála, Dr Edson Silva, with health professionals and members of the province's civil society, represented by traditional authorities, associations, churches, and teachers.

According to the Vice-Governor of Huambo Province for the Social Area, Dr Edmundo Ilavoco, the WHO has been an essential partner of the Angolan state in conducting public policies to strengthen the health system.

"As well as promoting initiatives to combat major endemics and other infectious and parasitic diseases, the WHO has played a crucial role in disease prevention and surveillance, so we hope that its knowledge and experience will help to strengthen dialogue between the institutions that make up the health system and, at the same time, establish increasingly solid networks capable of detecting tangible gaps in the health sector at an early stage, to allow for potential improvement strategies."

During the mission, the WHO team visited the Central Hospital of Huambo and the Municipal Hospital of Caála and conducted a focus group in the commune of Calenga with the participation of community representatives from four municipalities in the province, namely Caala, Longonjo, Tchindjinge, Ikuma and Kuima. Both occasions made it possible to hear about the health situation of the population, treatment conditions, challenges, and individual and collective efforts to prevent and combat diseases.

For the WHO's Acting Representative in Angola, Dr Humphrey Karamagi, the health sector in the province has been developing a series of initiatives to improve the population's health. Still, several challenges require structural interventions to improve primary health care and the leading health indicators with the support of all social and community partners.

“Despite the challenges the province is still facing, there is a lot of potential for significantly improving the framework and guaranteeing Health for All. The main diseases and causes of death that continue to affect the sector are preventable and avoidable, which, with the right effort, joint work and adequate support, the province can be able to overcome”.

Among the main recommendations that emerged from the meetings and visits to the health units for improving the health situation in Huambo province are the need to strengthen multisectoral work to promote better results in health actions; the integration of other key partners in health promotion initiatives such as therapists, traditional midwives and naturopaths for community engagement; a commitment to improving transportation conditions for health teams, in particular with the acquisition of motorcycles that allow mobile health brigades to move around and access the most remote areas.

There is also a commitment to reactivate the mobile brigades and advanced health teams to guarantee health service coverage for the populations furthest from the centres and in areas that are difficult to access, to strengthen the empowerment of communities in identifying and resolving health problems at the local level, as well as educating and mobilising communities on disease prevention measures, among others.