Luanda: The Economic and Social Council emphasized on Thursday the importance of viewing poverty in Angola as a multidimensional, systemic, and intergenerational phenomenon that extends well beyond insufficient income.
According to Angola Press News Agency, the final communiqu© of the first edition of the Forum on the Cycle of Poverty in Angola highlighted CES representative Ramiro Barreira's assertion that poverty in Angola encompasses access to education, health care, decent employment, housing, water, sanitation, food security, and productive opportunities.
The main structural determinants of poverty identified during the proceedings include the economy's strong dependence on oil and weak productive diversification, persistent regional and social inequalities, limitations in access to and quality of education and vocational training, structural deficits in the health system, and high levels of child malnutrition.
Other factors mentioned include high unemployment, especially among young people; the predominance of informality; and insufficient basic infrastructure coupled with weaknesses in land-use planning.
Thematic panels allowed for in-depth debate with representatives from government sectors, experts, CES advisors, and institutional partners. This culminated in the formulation of strategic and operational recommendations organized into fundamental axes.
It also recommended increasing funding for the health and education sectors to exceed 15 percent of the Union's General Budget, expanding technical and vocational training to align with labor market needs, strengthening family farming and agro-industrial value chains, and accelerating Municipal Master Plans and municipal road rehabilitation.
The CES analyzed successful international experiences in poverty reduction, concluding that institutional stability, good governance, evidence-based public policies, targeted social programs, and competitive integration into the global economy are crucial.
It reaffirmed that Angola has the natural resources, human capital, and geostrategic positioning necessary to promote structural economic transformation and sustainably improve the well-being of its population, provided public policies are implemented coherently and with coordination and strong institutional commitment.
The Economic and Social Council reiterated its commitment to continuing to play its advisory role by promoting spaces for strategic dialogue and presenting well-founded recommendations to the Head of the Executive Branch within the framework of its legal powers.
The forum took place under the theme: "The Cycle of Poverty in Angola: Challenges and Solutions," marking a significant milestone in establishing the CES as an entity for strategic deliberation and formulating recommendations on the primary structural challenges of national development.
