| PROGRAMMES: ANGOLA | | | | | |
  ANGOLA Background
After three decades of war, Angola’s health system is being rebuilt nearly from scratch. An estimated 80% of the country’s health facilities were damaged or destroyed during the war and the existing health system covers only about 30% of the population. |
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The provision of health care is further limited by shortages of qualified health professionals and essential medicines. The result is an under five mortality rate that is one of the highest in the world, with 260 deaths per 1,000 live births, and maternal mortality is estimated to be 1,280 deaths per 100,000 live births.
The Crisis
Malaria is the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in Angola, and is responsible for 60% of hospital admissions for children under five and 10% for pregnant women. 35% of the overall mortality in children under five and 25% of overall maternal mortality are attributed to malaria. |
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The MENTOR Initiative’s response
The Government of Angola has made improving its response to malaria a high priority and has begun to take the necessary steps in mounting an effective response. With the majority of the nearly four million refugees and internally displaced persons having recently returned home, the task is all the more difficult. In order to assist the government in establishing an effective malaria control system that can respond to the needs of the population, The MENTOR Initiative has established two pilot programs in the provinces of Huambo and Zaire, areas receiving among the highest numbers of returning refugees. |
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The MENTOR Initiative program in Angola covers a wide spectrum of malaria control activities, including treatment, diagnosis, personal protection, vector control, epidemic prevention, and operational research.
Primary ongoing activities include the provision of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) and training of health workers in their use. Replacing previous first and second-line malaria medications, whose effectiveness has been diminished by parasite resistance, with highly effective ACTs is urgently needed to reduce needless death and suffering. |
| The use of RDTs assists in ensuring accurate diagnosis and helps to reduce overuse of drugs, which reduces treatment costs and helps slow the development of drug resistance. |
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| The MENTOR Initiative targets pregnant women with the distribution of long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLITNs) and the provision of intermittent presumptive treatment (IPT) at ante-natal clinics. Along with the provision of nets and medications, health staff and the women themselves are educated about the risks of malaria in pregnancy and how these interventions can be effectively used to protect pregnant women and their children. |
| The MENTOR Initiative works alongside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to protect returning refugees with indoor residual spraying in the transit camps in Huambo and Zaire provinces. |
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| In order to improve malaria surveillance in the epidemic-prone southern provinces, The MENTOR Initiative is working with the French Space Agency to pilot a technologically advanced, but simple-to-use method of tracking malaria cases by sending data through satellite systems. |
| Throughout implementation of its projects, The MENTOR Initiative carries out research aimed at improving current programming as well as informing actors nationally and internationally involved in the fight against malaria. |
Examples of research projects realized in Angola include an initial evaluation of insecticide-treated wall linings as a new malaria prevention tool, malaria prevalence surveys, mosquito net usage studies, and ACT coverage surveys.
A continuous thread through all of our work is capacity building and sharing of technical knowledge, particularly with the Angolan National Malaria Control Program, who work as our partners in both provinces. The result of our efforts has been increased access to lifesaving medications, improved malaria diagnosis, greater usage of LLITNs, improved surveillance and drug management in health posts, and an all-round better capacity of local health workers to meet the needs of their clients – the Angolan people. |
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