Day: October 2, 2023

Socialist International´s President receives MPLA Politburo Secretary

The secretary of the MPLA’s Political Bureau for International Relations, Manuel Augusto, on Monday discussed issues related to the current world political situation with the President of the Socialist International (IS), Pedro Sanchez, in Madrid, Spain.

On the occasion, Manuel Augusto, who is also Vice-President of the IS, conveyed the MPLA’s wishes for the success of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) in the current political-parliamentary debate for the constitution of Spain’s next government, following the elections held last July.

It should be remembered that the opposition party, Alberto Feijó’s Partido Popular (PP), won the most votes in the elections but failed to achieve the majority needed to form a government, after two votes in Congress.

As a result, the King of Spain, Filipe VI, is expected to invite Pedro Sanchez, leader of the PSOE and outgoing Prime Minister, to form a government on Tuesday (03), subject to an identical vote in that legislative body.

Manuel Augusto is on a tour that has already taken him to the United States of America (USA), with the aim of publicizing the success achieved, under the leadership of President João Lourenço, in implementing the MPLA’s government program submitted to Angolan voters in August 2022.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

MASFAMU launches statistical data platform on domestic violence

A statistical data platform on domestic violence in Angola was launched on Monday, in Luanda, by the Ministry of Social Action, Family and Promotion of Women (MASFAMU).

The Platform is a digital tool to support domestic violence prevention and victim protection services in Angola. The victim portal www.violeçadomestica.ao is the address that provides functionalities to different types of users, through a simple, intuitive and easily accessible graphical interface, from any device with internet access.

On the portal, it is possible to make a report, consult useful information about preventing domestic violence, send suggestions, search for support and protection services for victims, receive advice and guidance.

The launch of this platform is the culmination of a series of actions taking place as part of the celebrations of the International Day of Non-Violence.

On the occasion, the Minister of Social Action, Family and Promotion of Women, Ana Paula do Sacramento Neto, said that domestic violence continues to be a problem that takes away the peace of countless Angolan families, whose victims are mostly women, children and the elderly.

“As you know, domestic violence is part of the catalog of complex crimes whose action to combat and hold the perpetrator criminally responsible, constitutes a very arduous task, all because it occurs, as a general rule, within walls, that is, within the family environment”, she said.

According to the minister, formal criminal control bodies can only act by triggering the competent criminal process against the aggressor upon a complaint from the victim, a relative or neighbor who has witnessed or become aware of the occurrence of such criminal conduct.

Ana Paula de Sacramento Neto highlighted that in this type of crime the complaint appears to be the key element, without which it will almost never be possible to take its agents to court to answer for the crimes committed. Aware of this reality, he said, the Angolan legislator attributed domestic violence to the nature of a public crime, precisely to facilitate reporting, allowing it to be made by anyone who in some way witnessed or had knowledge of the commission of the criminal act.

On the other hand, he added that the victim rarely reports their aggressor, mainly due to the family bond that unites them and because, not infrequently, the aggressor is the guarantor of the family’s livelihood and the other family members, despite having knowledge of such criminal practices, they feel inhibited from reporting it to preserve their livelihood.

“In order for us to quickly and effectively prevent and combat the phenomenon of domestic violence, it is essential to create an institutional mechanism for collecting, storing and processing data on the topic under analysis, capable of providing us with the closest information and figures of what really happens in the country with regard to domestic violence”, the minister explained.

The minister recalled that during 2022, the Counseling Centers directly controlled by MASFAMU recorded 8,348 cases of domestic violence in 11 provinces, of which 2,105 were committed against men and 6,243 against women.

According to the minister, MASFAMU created the Domestic Violence Statistical Data Platform, convinced that, with its entry into operation, the country will have a mechanism for collecting and processing data on the number of cases of domestic violence registered daily.

In the same sense, the telephone line with terminal 15020 was reactivated to provide society with another channel for reporting all types of violence to which they are subjected or of which they are aware.

This is a telephone line that is being widely disseminated and its operation is nationwide, contributing significantly to the increase in the number of complaints, thus facilitating the discovery of aggressors, as well as their criminal liability. It will serve as a data collection mechanism on the number of cases of domestic violence occurring.

As part of the International Day of Non-Violence, MASFAMU, through INAC, takes the opportunity to launch the campaign with Martial Arts Club Dibanda Nzaze Conexão, which is aligned with actions to protect and promote children’s rights based on the 11 commitments assumed by the Angolan government.

Data indicate that the MASFAMU Family Counseling Center in Luanda, CAF-Maianga, registered, from January to October 2023, 902 cases of face-to-face complaints and with the reactivation of the 15020 SOS-Domestic violence line, they received 226 useful calls, referring to reports of domestic violence, being, 135 of which were made by men and 128 by women.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Football season kicks off next Saturday

The 2023/2024 football season kicks off next Saturday at the Ombaka stadium, in centre-west Benguela Province, with the dispute of the Angolan Super Cup, between title holders Petro de Luanda and Académica do Lobito (defeated cup finalist).

The information was shared on Sunday on Radio 5, by the president of the Football Federation (FAF)’s Technical Council, José Neves.

According to the official, the start of the First Division National National Football Championship (Girabola2023/24) should take place on the 13th of the current month, with the possibility of a new draw or maintenance of the recently prepared schedule.

To remind that the season was initially scheduled to kick off on September 3rd, at the Tundavala stadium, in the city of Lubango (Huila), but it was postponed due to a corruption case denunciation, which involves the clubs Petro de Luanda, Académica do Lobito and Kabuscorp do Palanca.

Also indicted are the president of Kabuscorp do Palanca, Bento Kamba, the club’s general secretary, Marximina Luzia Bernardo and coach Agostinho Tramagal.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

GDP grows 0.01% from second quarter of 2022 to 2023

Angola’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.01 per cent from the second quarter of 2022 to the second quarter of 2023, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said Monday in Luanda.

According to the Rapid Information Sheet (FIR), referring to the National Accounts for the second quarter of 2023, GDP grew by 0.2 per cent from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2023, taking into account the seasonally adjusted series.

INE says that the quarter-on-quarter variation (seasonally adjusted) shows that the activities that contributed positively to the variation in GDP in the 2nd quarter of 2023 compared to the 1st quarter of 2023 were Agri-livestock and forestry 0.12%, fishing 0.18%, oil extraction and refining 1.84% and financial and insurance intermediation 0.25%.

Vectorial analysis

The FIR indicates that the Gross Value Added of agri-livestock grew by 1.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter of the previous year, making a positive contribution of 0.002 per cent to the total change in GDP.

The document explains that this variation was due to the increase in production of agricultural crops and livestock, with agricultural products varying by 0.16% and livestock products by 11.0% in this period in the sector.

The Gross Value Added of Fishing grew by 5.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter of the previous year, making a positive contribution of 0.003 per cent to the total change in GDP.

This growth was due to the increase in some large vessels and the entry of more communal aquaculture projects and larviculture centres. Industrial and semi-industrial fisheries account for around 70% of the sector, and in this period had a variation of 8.7 per cent.

The Gross Value Added of Oil fell by 2.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter of the previous year, making a negative contribution of 0.01 per cent to the total change in GDP.

Although there were positive variations in the production of the quantities extracted of natural gas, LNG and condensate, there was a drop in the extraction of crude oil, the latter having a weight of around 90 per cent.

This variation is the result of the stoppage of processing due to the gas leak at the “BL6P1-ST1” well in the Belize field, the activation of the high-pressure alarm in the storage tank at FPSO Kizomba A and the poor performance of some wells in the Ndungu field, as well as the lack of support for the water injection system.

The Gross Value Added of diamond mining fell by 21.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter of the previous year, making a negative contribution of 0.01 per cent to the total change in GDP.

This drop was fundamentally due to the fact that there was a negative variation in diamond and salt mining production of around 22.1% and 52.9% respectively. The two branches of activity account for more than 90 per cent of GDP.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Government invests on efficient and humanized health system

The Vice-President of the Republic, Esperança da Costa, said Monday in Luanda that the government was committed to expanding a more robust, efficient and humanized health system and to creating decent working conditions.

Speaking to the press during the reopening of the Neves Bendinha Specialized General Hospital, he stressed that the country currently has 2,000 health units, of which eight are central hospitals, 32 provincial and around 228 municipal hospitals.

In addition, the Vice-President of the Republic said that there is a large set of medical posts to be transformed into a primary service of proximity care at the level of the communes and districts.

“We are on a path that we would like to continue with everyone’s participation and it has been a pressing concern of President João Lourenço, who wants to see the field of health become increasingly robust, efficient and more modern and advanced,” she said.

Vice President, Esperança da Costa noted that the country is making a lot of progress in terms of quantity, but there are still challenges that need concrete and sustainable solutions.

She said that while progress is being made in maximizing the number of hospital units, the Executive is also focusing on human capital and creating better conditions for health professionals.

She also recalled that in recent years, the ministry in charge has held several public tenders for the health sector throughout the country.

“Today we have around 30,000 new health professionals hired, but the big challenge now is to train them and we are working towards precise targets in the field of specialization in the various areas and skills in this and other hospitals across the country,” he pointed out.

Call for humanized services

The Vice-President of the Republic called on all the country’s health professionals to be increasingly committed to the work they do.

“Let them always be based on ethics and professionalism, let them provide more humanized services and show more love for others. We are dealing with human lives, which must be preserved,” he said,

Esperança da Costa also said that it was necessary to work consistently on hospital management, property, equipment and drugs, and also called on users to participate in the maintenance of health units.

Satisfaction with modernized services

Esperança da Costa expressed her satisfaction at the reopening of the health unit with around 80 beds and state-of-the-art equipment, considering it the result of strategic choices made by the Executive, which wants to see the health sector increasingly optimized and efficient.

“We left here satisfied because we reopened this health unit, best known as the “Burn Hospital”, which is a great tribute to the Angolan nationalist Neves Bendinha.

The hospital has state-of-the-art equipment and will be able to carry out differentiated diagnostic analysis, as well as providing a humanized and efficient response to demand, i.e. from the most minor to the most complex burns.

The ceremony was attended by the widow (Lídia de Brito Teixeira) and family members of the nationalist Neves Bendinha, whose name was given to the hospital specializing in the treatment of burns.

Neves Bendinha

Neves Adão Bendinha, an Angolan nationalist, was born on 10 November 1936 in the village of Guinza, Icolo e Bengo, and died on 15 May 1961.

He was a hero whose actions went beyond bravery, self-sacrifice and total commitment to the nationalist cause. He was a great mobiliser of the masses, stirring them to revolt against the Salazar regime.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Neves Bendinha Hospital prepared to serve the country

The Neves Bendinha Specialized Hospital, which was reopened on Monday, in Luanda, will benefit the population across the country, providing benefits to users in terms of innovation and quality of healthcare provision.

The fact was expressed by the Minister of Health, Silvia Lutucuta, in statements to the press, during the reopening of the aforementioned hospital, whose ceremony was chaired by the Vice-President of the Republic, Esperança Costa.

She stressed that this action constitutes another act in the process of strengthening the National Health Service (SNS), contributing to the prevention of disease, treatment and rehabilitation of people with burns.

According to Sílvia Lutucuta, this unit will encourage research and staff training, providing equity and reducing inequalities in citizens’ access to quality and humanized healthcare.

According to the minister, all services are equipped with diagnostic means that will increase their resolution capacity, will better respond to the needs of citizens and improve the attractiveness conditions for competent health professionals.

Regarding human resources, she highlighted that the Hospital already has 439 professionals, including doctors, nurses, diagnostic and therapeutic technicians, hospital support technicians, general staff and social workers.

“We are encouraged by a strong commitment to training staff and scientific research and, to this end, we are creating synergies with similar institutions in the public and private sectors of excellence to share knowledge, so that we continue to build a system health system capable of responding to the needs of our population”, she guaranteed.

The minister stated that the sector is also committed to establishing a new management model, as well as mobilizing sources of financing that complement that of the General State Budget, with secure partnerships and, in this way, creating conditions for everyone, regardless of their stratum. Social.

According to Sílvia Lutucuta, the Executive considers it absolutely essential to continue investing in the expansion and improvement of the infrastructures of the National Health Service, thus fulfilling its aims of universality and centrality in people throughout the national territory.

“It is with this determination that we must continue identifying the problems and solving them, step by step, but in a safe way, to guarantee sustainability to what we are building and achieving.” she added.

With this work, the Hospital gains an increase of 1,500 m2 of useful area and the total installation of 93 new beds, three laboratories, an Intensive Care Unit and telemedicine. Neves Bendinha Hospital is the reference health unit in the country with the mission of offering humanized services to patients with burns.

Four new blocks were added to its old structure. All wards of the Hospital underwent structural renovation, providing greater functionality to the environments and comfort for users and service teams. The north wing of the hospital includes several sections, such as: hemotherapy; wards; dressing room; postoperative; Oxygen and medical gas plant.

The Intensive Care Unit has 13 beds, three of which are for isolation for infectious pathologies or immunocompromised patients.

The laboratory service has three rooms, two for clinical analyzes (internal and external) and one for Microbiology.

Source: Angola Press News Agency