Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Fides Service) - In Angola today three diseases connected with poverty tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS are a major problem. For example the four million people living in the capital Luanda have no state health services to deal with these illnesses.
Although the TB Centre at Divine Providence Hospital in Luanda, provides a good service, the Italian Missionary Medical Union UMMI, present in the capital since 1994 with various social-healthcare programmes, is of the opinion that an intervention to improve accessibility and territorial coverage of this service is indispensable.
The new programme is destined to help some 700,000 people in the southern Luanda suburb of Kilamba Kiaxi, for whom health care offered at the central hospital and in the field constitute the only point of reference for prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Malaria is the first cause of mortality and morbidity in Angola. It can cause still-births, low birth weight, malnutrition. About 2% of Angolans are affected by TB propagated also by widespread poverty, nutritional difficulties, increased impact of HIV .
Sexually transmitted diseases gonorrhoea, syphilis, hepatitis B and AIDS which has the greatest impact, constitute another serious health problem.
The UMMI aims to reduce morbidity, mortality and transmission of these diseases and guarantee the peoples right to health by consolidating existing structures, procedures and therapy, creating more hospital beds, promoting a nutrition service to support patients in critical physical conditions, organising health education campaigns, providing all the necessary services of clinical tests and screening. (AP) (3/12/2004 Agenzia Fides; Righe:28; Parole:315)
