Angola is located on the
west coast of southern Africa, north of Namibia. It is divided into
18 provinces and 163 municipalities; the capital city is Luanda. Portuguese
is the official language, but other languages are spoken as well.
Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975. In that year the
health services were nationalised. Then 27 years of civil war followed
(up till 2002), which caused damage to the country's health service
delivery infrastructure.
In 2001 the public health system was decentralised; the provincial
governments are now responsible for provincial hospitals, municipal
hospitals and health centres, and health posts. A relatively high
number of nurses (about 16,000) are employed in the public health
system, and approximately 850 doctors. Altogether there are about
100 hospitals, 250 health centres and 900 health posts in the public
health sector.
Private medical practice has been allowed since 1992 and the private
health sector plays a significant role in Angola. There are hundreds
of private clinics in Luanda alone.
The country has over 13 million inhabitants. Almost 50% of the population
are under 15 years of age. The average life expectancy of the Angolan
population is about 46 years. Malaria is the principal cause of child
mortality, malnutrition is also a major cause of death. The Ministry
of Health has a national health programme with emphasis on control
of epidemic diseases, malnutrition, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and reproductive/maternal
health. |
ANGOLA
General
Information / Health Care System
