Luanda, 16 April 2020 - A caravan of public health specialists left the capital Luanda today for the regions as the country ramps up COVID-19 emergency response. The team will work with provincial administrative and health authorities to bolster their capacity to curb the virus from spreading further.
The initiative under the aegis of the Ministry of Health, with technical and financial support from the World Health Organization (WHO), aims to step up the subnational rapid response through training of local health professionals in four key areas: case management; risk communication; epidemiological surveillance; logistics; and biosafety.
According to the WHO Acting Representative in Angola, Dr Javier Aramburu, this is a project that will contribute to the strengthening of local capacities to handle confirmed COVID-19 cases, intensive care management, infection prevention and control, and above all, ensure the assessment of the state of ventilator machines, an essential tool for treating cases of COVID-19 in critical situations.
“The WHO considers it crucial that rapid response teams with technical capacity to prevent, test, treat and track contacts of suspected cases of COVID-19 be established throughout the country. Therefore, this initiative is a key approach that will enable Angola to be prepared for the likely more complex stages of response to OVID-19," said Dr Aramburu.
To strengthen the fight against COVID-19 in Angola, WHO calls for the collaboration of the entire population to comply with the guidelines of the Ministry of Health regarding physical distancing, use of protective masks, including home-made, in order to prevent the risks of transmission and contamination of the disease.