Angola: Minister of Health Strengthens Strategies to Fight Ncds

8 October 2025
Angola Press Agency (Luanda)

Luanda — The Ministry of Health held, on Wednesday (08) in Luanda, a workshop dedicated to verifying and validating the PEN-WHO (Package of Essential Noncommunicable Disease Interventions--Plus) instruments, aiming to strengthen the national response to Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Angola.

According to a statement that ANGOP had access to, the two-day meeting brings together technicians and specialists from the health sector to analyze protocols, share best practices, and adapt World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations to the national context.

During the opening ceremony, the National Director of Public Health, Helga Freitas, highlighted the event as "an important milestone in strengthening primary health care and the integrated response to the most prevalent chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, and breast cancer."

According to Freitas, NCDs represent one of the greatest public health challenges, directly impacting the population's quality of life, productivity, and the country's development.

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"Globally, NCDs are responsible for more than 70% of premature deaths," she said, citing cardiovascular diseases, neoplasms, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes as the main causes.

Preliminary data from the 2023-2024 Multiple Health Indicators Survey reveal that in Angola, 12% of women and 11% of men between the ages of 15 and 49 live with high blood pressure. However, only 2% of the population in this age group was reported to have high blood glucose levels.

She explained that to address this reality, the country implemented the National Plan for the Prevention, Support, and Protection of People with NCDs (2024-2025) and the Multisectoral Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs (2025-2030).

These plans provide for a multisectoral approach, expanding access to diagnosis and treatment, as well as preventive vaccination, including against HPV (Human PapillomaVirus).

She announced that the creation of the National Commission for the Implementation of the PEN-WHO and PEN-Plus packages, instruments aimed at strengthening primary and secondary care in the fight against non-communicable diseases, is also underway.

Helga Freitas concluded by stating that the workshop represents a decisive step in consolidating a common technical framework for NCD control in Angola, with a focus on continuous service improvement and reducing the burden of these diseases on the population.

Read the original article on ANGOP.

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