Luanda — The Minister of Health, Sílvia Lutucuta, assured on Wednesday in Geneva (Switzerland), that Angola has welcomed the new approach of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), recognizing the central role of countries in defining their public health priorities,
For the minister, at the high-level meeting "GAVI Leap in Action", at the 79th World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO), health sovereignty means the ability to define national policies adjusted to the country's reality, strengthen state leadership and align international support with national strategies.
She also informed that Angola recently approved the National Immunization Strategy for the next 5 years, focusing on reducing zero-dose and under-immunized children, mainly in peri-urban areas and hard-to-reach communities.
The Minister pointed out that among the main priorities are the "expansion of mobile vaccination brigades", "strengthening of community actions", "strengthening of the cold chain and logistics", "modernization of digital epidemiological surveillance systems", "strengthening of outbreak response capacity" and the "integration of vaccination into primary health care".
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Sílvia Lutucuta also stressed that between 25% and 38% of the doses managed in the country are carried out through mobile teams and community activities, reflecting the Executive's effort to reach more vulnerable populations.
She also reaffirmed Angola's commitment to the progressive increase in domestic funding for immunization and to the sustainability of national vaccination programs.
At the meeting, which gathered health ministers, government representatives and multilateral partners, the challenges of global immunization, the financial sustainability of vaccination programs and the new GAVI operational model were discussed.
The new operational model, structured under the Gavi 6.0 strategy and valid until 2030, puts countries in the lead (national ownership), simplifies financing with single 5-year grant applications, and increases the focus on vulnerable populations.
