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President unveils a reference hospital unit

Luanda – Angolan head of State João Lourenço inaugurated Thursday the Specialised Center for Endemic and Pandemic Diseases (CETEP).

Located in Calumbo, Viana Municipality (Luanda), the 1,300-bed hospital unit is designed for Covid-19, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria patients.

After the inauguration of the first phase of the infrastructure, the Angolan Head of State, accompanied by some members of the Executive, toured the center’s service and service areas.

Built from scratch in an area of 62,000 square meters, the hospital has 73 beds for intensive care, equipped with monitors, fans, feeding pumps, infusion syringes, hemodialysis machines and heaters.

The hospital also has diagnostic areas with clinical laboratories with high competence in microbiology, antibiogram and molecular biology, as well as a cafeteria, kitchen, laundry and a heliport.

It has three aisles with dormitories and 200 residences to house most of its employees, as well as eight vehicles, including two ambulances and two buses for transporting employees.

As for the conservation of the environment, in this hospital located near the Kwanza River, all aspects of the treatment of water, solid and liquid waste were taken into account.

Second and third phases

The second phase of the hospital unit, whose plot of land is already available, will include an infrastructure with areas covering the emergency services, imaging, three operating rooms and a nursing ward for 30 inpatients.

It will also have an intensive care unit and a pediatric area with 14 beds, a training center and an auditorium for 300 people.

The third and final phase includes the construction of a central laboratory, a space for conversation of vaccines and a ward for 70 inpatients.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

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US praises Angolan government for permanent reforms

Luanda – The United State government Thursday praised Angola for its commitment to ongoing reforms and efforts to diversify the economy, Angop has learnt.

The recognition is expressed in a press release signed by the Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken, ahead of celebrations of the 46th anniversary of National Independence on November 11.

The US government highlights the Angolan Executive’s commitment to fighting corruption and holding citizens accountable who profited at the expense of the Angolan people.

As for the response to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Antony J. Blinken reiterated his country’s shared commitment to health security and regional stability.

In the message, he congratulated Angolans on the 11th of November, the National Independence Day, having acknowledged the strong bilateral relationship between Angolan and United States.

Antony J. Blinken expresses desire to maintain strategic dialogue and continued cooperation.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

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Minister of Education highlights strengthening of teachers’ skills

Luanda – Angolan minister of Education Luísa Grilo highlighted Thursday in Paris (France) the reinforcement of teachers skills to deal with the “new standard” imposed by Covid-19.

The minister stressed this at the 41st Session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Luísa Grilo said that the return to classes has forced the Angolan Executive to mobilise didactic-pedagogical conditions, biosafety and reinforcement of skills of teachers, consistent with their training needs, and monitoring of the role of the school.

Grilo added that despite these constraints, Angola is implementing, in the wide range of social and economic fields, a set of programmes to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The minister said the intention is to reduce regional discrepancies, gender inequalities and securing universal and quality education for all children, promoting social inclusion and combat discrimination.

She pointed to the Integrated Programme for Intervention in Municipalities (PIIM), which, in her view, is providing a significant increase in the number of classrooms and reduction in students out of education system.

The official also announced that special attention is being given to girls in secondary education, with granting of 250 annual scholarships for the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The minister also spoke of the focus on reduction in gender deficit, the strengthening of family skills through women’s empowerment programmes, fighting against poverty, protecting and promoting children’s rights and valuing the family.

The minister also spoke of digital literacy with the existence of 7 million internet users and the use of the most varied information and communication systems, especially by young people who make up 2/3 of the Angolan population.

In the field of higher education, science, technology and innovation, according to the minister, the Government is committed to a training programme for Angolan staff with high performance and academic merit, with the support of the best universities in the world.

She said that 443 students have already been sent for the training, in addition to the granting of 190 doctoral and post-doctoral scholarships for higher education teachers.

Luísa Grilo also referred to the Science and Technology Development Programme, co-financed by the African Development Bank, who said that it has already guaranteed the financing of 25 of the 45 projects planned for this year.

The minister also announced the creation of the National Agency for Financing Science, Technology and Innovation, whose purpose is to integrate research and technological development institutions and higher education institutions in international scientific research networks.

Angola, according to the minister, supports initiatives, programmes and projects that benefit African countries, highlighting UNESCO’s Operational Strategy for Priority Africa 2022-2029, as it reflects the aspirations of Agenda 2063 of the African Union and the Sustainable Development goals set forth in the United Nations Agenda 2030.

Luísa Grilo also said that the need to develop efforts for the inscription of new “Africa Sites” on the World Heritage List is of greater interest, as well as the preservation of the “Sites” already inscribed through scientific and technological cooperation and mobilisation of funds to boost the actions carried out by the World Heritage Fund Africa.

Within the framework of the work agenda, Angola presented its candidacy for the UNESCO Executive Board.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

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President announces construction of new health facilities

Luanda – Angolan President João Lourenço Thursday announced plans for the construction, over the next two years, of new reference hospitals in the country.

The Head of State announced this to the press after the inauguration of the Specialised Center for the Treatment of Endemic and Pandemic Diseases located in Calumbo commune in Viana municipality (Luanda).

He said that, until next year, the Executive will start the construction of hospital units, with capacity between 100 and 200 beds.

He announced construction of general hospitals of Sumbe (coastal Cuanza Sul province) and Ndalatando (northern Cuanza Norte province).

João Lourenço spoke of plans for construction of 200-bed units in Viana, currently the largest population center in Luanda, and Cacuaco.

The Statesman also announced plans for the construction of general hospitals in the capital city of Uíge province, Dundo (Lunda Norte) and Mbanza Kongo (Zaire).

In Mbanza Kongo, he added, the construction works have already started some time ago, but they came to a halt for various reasons.

The President of the Republic also announced the construction, from scratch, of a new infrastructure for the Central Military Hospital, as the current one regularly require repair works.

In his speech, he also announced the construction of a University Hospital, as well as referring to the general hospital in Ondjiva, in Cunene, which is already under construction.

The Head of State also spoke of some municipal units under construction, as examples the cases of Cuemba (Bié) and Camanongue (Moxico).

The president assured that the great effort that has been made to improve the health sector will continue, not only in terms of infrastructure but also in human being, (…) to ensure better functioning.

“We are not going to give up on our concern to offer better social services to our population, including the provision of health services, education, as well as energy and drinking water”, he concluded.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

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Covid-19: Angola with 153 recoveries, 42 new cases

Luanda- Health authorities recorded last Thursday the recovery of 153 patients, 42 new cases and 2 deaths in the latest 24 hours.

Among the recovered, 151 resides in Luanda, 1 in Huíla and 1 in Lunda Norte.

According to Covid-19 daily report, 29 new cases were diagnosed in Luanda, 6 in Moxico, 5 in Cabinda and 2 in Uíge.

So far, Angola has totaled 64,857 cases, 1,725 deaths, 61,283 recoveries and 1,849 active patients.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

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Gas in rail transport reduces operational costs

Malanje – Angola’s Oil Firm Sonangol and Luanda Railway company signed Thursday cooperation consignment agreement providing for transportation of bulk butane gas by train from Luanda to the north-eastern Malanje province.

Gas in rail transport from Luanda to Malanje was suspended in 1988, among other factors, due to the armed conflict in the country.

The process resumed officially on 19 September this year, 33 years later, but the two companies did not sign the agreement until Thursday, 11th, in Malanje province.

The move has come to reduce the risks involved at the time in the road transport of the operational costs, in prevention of loss.

The initiative also helps ensure more gas stocks for the northern-based provinces of Cuanza Norte, Uíge and Malanje.

According to the chairperson of Executive Commission of Gas Business Unity and Renewable Energy of Sonangol, Manuel Barros, in the first phase it is expected to transport 200 tonnes of gas on weekly basis.

“In terms of logistics, the transportation of gas from Luanda to Malanje is of a strategic importance as it is part of the fulfillment of Sonangol’s commitment to increase the availability of this product to the families”, said the official, who was speaking at the signing of the consignment for the re-launch the railway gas transport process with the Luanda Railway (CFL)

The manager added that this initiative is part of the Executive actions included in the development national plan for 2018/2022, but he would not reveal the amount in decrease in rail transport operational costs.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

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International Space Station to Maneuver to Avoid Satellite Junk

The International Space Station will perform a brief maneuver on Wednesday to dodge a fragment of a defunct Chinese satellite, Russian space agency Roscosmos said.

The station crewed by seven astronauts will climb 1,240 meters higher to avoid a close encounter with the fragment and will settle in an orbit 470.7 km (292 miles) above the Earth, Roscosmos said. It did not say how large the debris was.

“In order to dodge the ‘space junk’, (mission control) specialists … have calculated how to correct the orbit of the International Space Station,” the agency’s statement said.

The station will rely on the engines of the Progress space truck that is docked to it to carry out the move.

An ever-swelling amount of space debris is threatening satellites hovering around Earth, making insurers leery of offering coverage to the devices that transmit texts, maps, videos and scientific data.

The document reaffirms the goals set in Paris in 2015 of limiting warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times, with a more stringent target of trying to keep warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) preferred because that would keep damage from climate change “much lower.”

Highlighting the challenge of meeting those goals, the document “expresses alarm and concern that human activities have caused around 1.1 C (2 F) of global warming to date and that impacts are already being felt in every region.”

Small island nations, which are particularly vulnerable to warming, worry that too little is being done to stop warming at the 1.5-degree goal — and that allowing temperature increases up to 2 degrees would be catastrophic for their countries.

“For Pacific (small island states), climate change is the greatest, single greatest threat to our livelihood, security and wellbeing. We do not need more scientific evidence nor targets without plans to reach them or talking shops,” Marshall Islands Health and Human Services minister told fellow negotiators Wednesday. “The 1.5 limit is not negotiable.”

Separate draft proposals were also released on other issues being debated at the talks, including rules for international carbon markets and the frequency by which countries have to report on their efforts.

The draft calls on nations that don’t have national goals that would fit with the 1.5- or 2-degree limits to come back with stronger targets next year. Depending on how the language is interpreted, the provision could apply to most countries. Analysts at the World Resources Institute counted that element as a win for vulnerable countries.

“This is crucial language,” WRI International Climate Initiative Director David Waskow said Wednesday. “Countries really are expected and are on the hook to do something in that timeframe to adjust.”

Greenpeace’s Morgan said it would have been even better to set a requirement for new goals every year.

In a nod to one of the big issues for poorer countries, the draft vaguely “urges” developed nations to compensate developing countries for “loss and damage,” a phrase that some rich nations don’t like. But there are no concrete financial commitments.

“This is often the most difficult moment,” Achim Steiner, the head of the U.N. Development Program and former chief of the U.N.’s environment office, said of the state of the two-week talks.

“The first week is over, you suddenly recognize that there are a number of fundamentally different issues that are not easily resolvable. The clock is ticking,” he told The Associated Press.

Source: Voice of America

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Australian Firm Recalls Over 2 Million US Covid Tests

An Australian medical tech manufacturer has recalled more than 2 million at-home COVID-19 tests shipped to the United States after finding an increased chance of false positives.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an alert Wednesday that the company, Ellume, had recalled 2.2 million tests since the issue was detected last month.

A false positive test result indicates that a person has coronavirus when the person does not.

“The FDA has identified this as a Class I recall, the most serious type of recall,” the agency said in a notice. “Use of these tests may cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”

The FDA said it had received 35 reports of false positives and no deaths to date.

In early October, Ellume announced a voluntary recall of 195,000 tests after false positive results were reported in some product batches at higher-than-expected rates.

At the time, the firm had shipped about 3.5 million tests to the U.S.

Ellume said Thursday that the recall was expanded after additional lots were found to be affected.

“Ellume has investigated the issue, identified the root cause, implemented additional controls, and we are already producing and shipping new product to the U.S.,” it said in a statement.

“We have and will continue to work diligently to ensure test accuracy, in all cases.”

Ellume’s rapid at-home coronavirus test last year became the first to receive emergency use authorization in the U.S.

Among the tests recalled were those provided to the Department of Defense for distribution to community health programs.

Source: Voice of America

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President João Lourenço returns home

Luanda – Angolan President, João Lourenço, returned this Wednesday to Luanda, from Cape Verde, where he witnessed the inauguration of President José Maria Neves.

Accompanied by the First Lady, Ana Dias Lourenço, at “4 de Fevereiro” International Airport the Angolan statesman was welcomed back by the Vice President of the Republic, Bornito de Sousa.

While in the Archipelago, President Lourenço met with the new President of Cape Verde, José Maria Neves, after his investiture, with whom he discussed issues of bilateral interest.

Still in Praia city, João Lourenço received in audience the former President of Cape Verde, Pedro Pires, a historical figure in the struggle for the liberation of the Cape Verdean people against Portuguese colonialism.

Angola and Cape Verde have strong cooperation ties, with agreements in areas such as visa waiver, education, defense, oil, diplomacy, agriculture, transport, finance and administration, among others.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

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President’s speech on the occasion of the 46th anniversary of the National Independence

Luanda – Message to the Nation from the President of the Republic of Angola, João Lourenço, on the occasion of the 46th anniversary of the National Independence.

Angolans

Dear fellow countrymen

When, in the dawn of November 11, 1975, the late President António Agostinho Neto solemnly proclaimed, on behalf of the Angolan People, before Africa and the World our National Independence, a new country was born and the hope of a whole People was sacred.

That night, together we celebrated with jubilation the culmination of a long and difficult journey. By proclaiming our Independence, we became free and equal, masters of our own destiny, we became, finally, proud ANGOLANS.

From that dawn onwards, our Flag floated high in the concert of nations and our Anthem, the anthem of freedom and hope, echoed loud and clear.

The colonial occupation was the first great test of our capacity for resistance, our fearless ability to fight for our rights and objectives, our unwavering unity in the face of great challenges and our firm will to win. United we fought and won the challenge of Independence.

This is therefore a moment to acknowledge and thank all those who, from the earliest days of colonisation, fought, sweated, shed their blood and gave their lives so that from the darkness of the night, the light of freedom would be born.

The achieved dream of Independence was, however, a means, so that the ultimate goal of building a prosperous society could be achieved.

DEAR COMPATRIOTS

Unfortunately, the joy hailed by National Independence was postponed soon after its inception. The dream proclaimed on 11 November 1975 of building a prosperous society for all was postponed.

The prolonged war shattered the lives of many Angolans, destroyed our country and prevented us from fulfilling the dreams of our Independence, postponed the country, jeopardised the future of several generations and delayed the fulfilment of our yearnings.

In this area too, our capacity for resistance, struggle, unity and strong will to overcome challenges were put to the test, but once again WE WON!

We achieved peace, maintained national unity and, with sincere forgiveness on the faces and in the souls of every Angolan, we reconciled the nation.

Indeed, the challenges of maintaining the conquests of peace, building national unity and building a reconciled nation are permanent and must be part of our daily lives.

DEAR COMPATRIOTS

In the almost 20 years of peace, together we have travelled a path that we should be proud of. The country has been rebuilt; we have built and rebuilt ports, airports and railways, we have invested in education and health by building and rebuilding schools and hospitals throughout the country and recruiting thousands of teachers, doctors and nurses.

We have increased the supply of housing, we have reduced the illiteracy rate, we have increased the number of scholarships at all levels of education, we considerably increased the number of hospital beds, means of diagnosis and treatment in the national healthcare system, we considerably increased investment in the production, transportation and distribution of electricity and drinking water on a national scale.

The achievements of National Independence and peace are indelible milestones of our history, which fill each one of us with pride and encourage us to face the long path ahead, to overcome the challenges of our time.

We have a past that makes us proud and drives us to build a better future. Making Angola a prosperous Nation is the main challenge of our time, it is possible and it is within our reach.

The road is long and complex, but I am sure that together we will succeed if we all work to maintain political and social stability, continuing to build and consolidate a democratic society based on the rule of law and respect for the Constitution and the Law.

To overcome today’s challenges we need to continue investing our time, our knowledge and our resources in changing the economic structure of Angola by diversifying our economy.

Exploiting all the potential we have is crucial to relaunch and diversify the economy, encourage private national and foreign investment, promote growth, generate employment and make the social state sustainable.

In order to overcome today’s challenges, it is essential that we continue to invest in the moralisation of society and in building a nation whose foundational pillars are moral values. We need to continue to mobilise every Angolan so that we take part in the fight to prevent and combat corruption.

DEAR COMPATRIOTS

The COVID-19 pandemic still does not allow us to celebrate our Independence as we would like, forcing us to continue with the biosecurity measures recommended by the health authorities and to massively adhere to the vaccination posts, so that we may more quickly create the conditions to return to normal life.

But despite this, today is a day of celebration, a day of victory, of hope and of glory, a day to reflect on our glorious path, and on how much we have ahead of us to overcome the challenges of our time.

As in the past, this is a time to believe, to fight and to work hard, to win the battle of development.

HONOUR AND ETERNAL GLORY TO THE HEROES OF THE MOTHERLAND!

LONG LIVE ANGOLA!

Source: Angola Press News Agency