Health in Angola is rated among the worst in the world.
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative [1] finds that Angola is achieving 55.4% of what it should be fulfilling in terms of the right to health based on what should be possible at its level of income. [2] When looking at the right to health with respect to children, Angola achieves 79.0% of what is expected based on its current income. [2] In regards to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves only 71.0% of what is expected based on the nation's level of income. [2] Angola falls into the "very bad" category when evaluating the right to reproductive health because the nation is fulfilling only 16.2% of what the nation is expected to achieve based on the resources (income) it has available. [2]
Angola became a member of the World Health Organization on May 15, 1976. [3]
USAID reported that the Angolan government has not had much success in developing an effective health care system since the end of the 27-year-long Angolan Civil War in 2002. According to USAID, during the War as many as 1 million people were killed, 4.5 million people became internally displaced, and 450,000 fled the country as refugees. [4] Due to lack of infrastructure and rapid urbanization, the government has been unable to promote programs that effectively address some of the basic needs of the people. Health care is not available in much of the country. [4]
As of 2012, 54% of the population had access to an improved water source and 60% had access to improved/shared sanitation.
In September 2014, the Angolan Institute for Cancer Control (IACC) was created by presidential decree, and it will integrate the National Health Service in Angola. [5] The purpose of this new center is to ensure the health and medical care in oncology, policy implementation, programs and plans for prevention and specialized treatment. [6] This cancer institute will be assumed as a reference institution in the central and southern regions of Africa. [7]
The 2014 CIA estimated average life expectancy in Angola was 51 years. [8]
Period | Life expectancy in Years | Period | Life expectancy in Years |
---|---|---|---|
1950–1955 | 31.4 | 1985–1990 | 41.5 |
1955–1960 | 32.5 | 1990–1995 | 42.2 |
1960–1965 | 34.1 | 1995–2000 | 44.7 |
1965–1970 | 36.0 | 2000–2005 | 50.0 |
1970–1975 | 38.1 | 2005–2010 | 55.6 |
1975–1980 | 40.0 | 2010–2015 | 60.2 |
1980–1985 | 40.9 |
Source: UN World Population Prospects [9]
Malaria in Angola is very prevalent in the northern part of the country due to the climate and appears more seasonally in the south. The majority of the population lives in the northern areas, in cities such as Luanda. Malaria is a huge concern for maternal health, contributing about 25 percent of the total maternal mortality alone. In 2009, UNICEF, NMCP, WHO, and other organizations partnered together in an effort to reduce the malaria burden. [10]
In 2008, the President of the United States Obama announced the Global Health Initiatives. One of these Initiatives includes the Malaria Operational Plan, which is a program that allocates funds to be used in order to improve health in Angola and other African countries afflicted with malaria. In Angola, the Malaria Operational Plan was implemented to decrease the number of women affected by malaria and improve maternal health. Angola was one of the first countries to receive aid and to have programs implemented to reduce the risk of malaria, as well as increase the number of healthy pregnancies. [10]
Due to Angola's location, the climate is ideal for many tropical diseases. Angola has a narrow coastal plain that rises into a high plateau in the country's interior. Rain forests are prevalent in the north, and in the south, the land is dry. The CIA reports that malaria and schistosomiasis are prevalent in the country. [11]
These diseases and others, such as tuberculosis and especially HIV/Aids, increase the complications and dangers faced by women during pregnancy. [12]
In 2014, Angola launched a national vaccination campaign against measles, extended to every child under ten years old in all 18 provinces in the country. [13] The measure is part of the Strategic Plan for the Elimination of Measles 2014–2020 created by the Angolan Ministry of Health which includes strengthening routine immunization, proper dealing with measles cases, national campaigns, introducing a second dose of vaccination in the national routine vaccination calendar and active epidemiological surveillance for measles. This campaign took place together with the vaccination against polio and vitamin A supplementation. [14]
Angola has a large HIV/AIDS infected population. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated adult prevalence at the end of 2003 at 3.9% – over 420,000 infected people. Angola's 27-year civil war (1975–2002), deterred the spread of HIV by making large portions of the country inaccessible. Angola was thus cut off from most contact with neighboring countries that had higher HIV infection rates. With the end of the war, transportation routes and communication are reopening, therefore enabling a greater potential for the spread of HIV/AIDS. Current statistics indicate that the border provinces, especially certain areas bordering Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, currently have higher prevalence than the rest of the country. [15]
Unhealthy individuals and populations pose a higher risk of infections when exposed to pathogens. Sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, are no exception to this rule. Stillwaggon states that many of the populations in Sub-Saharan Africa have a high prevalence of malnutrition, malaria, parasite infections, and schistosomiasis. These health conditions increase an individual's susceptibility of contracting HIV/AIDS. In that region, social conditions also play a major role in HIV transmission. Poverty, inadequate nutrition, unclean water, poor sanitation, and unsafe health care all play a major role in the prevalence of AIDS. [16]
Angola represents one of the highest maternal death rates in the world. [12] Results vary, but the estimated maternal mortality ratio (MMR) toward the end of the Civil War was between 1,281 and 1,500 maternal deaths to 100,000 live births. [17] Despite the improvements that have been made, the Human Development Index for 2011 shows a poor level of maternal health in Angola. A high level of adolescent fertility and low use of contraceptives for women of all ages was reported. This is observed by the high total fertility rate. These factors contribute to an elevated risk of health problems during pregnancy and childbirth. [18]
In terms of available healthcare and health status Sierra Leone is rated very poorly. Globally, infant and maternal mortality rates remain among the highest. The major causes of illness within the country are preventable with modern technology and medical advances. Most deaths within the country are attributed to nutritional deficiencies, lack of access to clean water, pneumonia, diarrheal diseases, anemia, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
Health in Afghanistan remains poor but steadily improving. It has been negatively affected by the nation's environmental issues and the decades of war since 1978. The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) oversees all matters concerning the health of the country's residents. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that Afghanistan is fulfilling 72.5% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income.
Mali, one of the world's poorest nations, is greatly affected by poverty, malnutrition, epidemics, and inadequate hygiene and sanitation. Mali's health and development indicators rank among the worst in the world, with little improvement over the last 20 years. Progress is impeded by Mali's poverty and by a lack of physicians. The 2012 conflict in northern Mali exacerbated difficulties in delivering health services to refugees living in the north.
HIV/AIDS in Lesotho constitutes a very serious threat to Basotho and to Lesotho's economic development. Since its initial detection in 1986, HIV/AIDS has spread at alarming rates in Lesotho. In 2000, King Letsie III declared HIV/AIDS a natural disaster. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in 2016, Lesotho's adult prevalence rate of 25% is the second highest in the world, following Eswatini.
In precolonial Ghana, infectious diseases were the main cause of morbidity and mortality. The modern history of health in Ghana was heavily influenced by international actors such as Christian missionaries, European colonists, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. In addition, the democratic shift in Ghana spurred healthcare reforms in an attempt to address the presence of infectious and noncommunicable diseases eventually resulting in the formation of the National Health insurance Scheme in place today.
The quality of health in Cambodia is rising along with its growing economy. The public health care system has a high priority from the Cambodian government and with international help and assistance, Cambodia has seen some major and continuous improvements in the health profile of its population since the 1980s, with a steadily rising life expectancy.
Health problems have been a long-standing issue limiting development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
A landlocked sub-Saharan country, Burkina Faso is among the poorest countries in the world—44 percent of its population lives below the international poverty line of US$1.90 per day —and it ranks 185th out of 188 countries on UNDP's 2016 Human Development Index .Rapid population growth, gender inequality, and low levels of educational attainment contribute to food insecurity and poverty in Burkina Faso. The total population is just over 20 million with the estimated population growth rate is 3.1 percent per year and seven out of 10 Burkinabe are younger than 30. Total health care expenditures were an estimated 5% of GDP. Total expenditure on health per capita is 82 in 2014.
Health in the Central African Republic has been degraded by years of internal conflict and economic turmoil since independence from France in 1960. One sixth of the country's population is in need of acute medical care. Endemic diseases put a high demand on the health infrastructure, which requires outside assistance to sustain itself.
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that Equatorial Guinea is fulfilling 43.5% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income. When looking at the right to health with respect to children, Equatorial Guinea achieves 64.4% of what is expected based on its current income. In regards to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves only 58.8% of what is expected based on the nation's level of income. Equatorial Guinea falls into the "very bad" category when evaluating the right to reproductive health because the nation is fulfilling only 7.3% of what the nation is expected to achieve based on the resources (income) it has available.
Health in South Africa touches on various aspects of health including the infectious diseases, Nutrition, Mental Health and Maternal care.
The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Tanzania was 790. This is compared with 449 in 2008 and 610.2 in 1990. The UN Child Mortality Report 2011 reports a decrease in under-five mortality from 155 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 76 per 1,000 live births in 2010, and in neonatal mortality from 40 per 1,000 live births to 26 per 1,000 live births. The aim of the report The State of the World's Midwifery is to highlight ways in which the Millennium Development Goals can be achieved, particularly Goal 4 – Reduce child
Guinea faces a number of ongoing health challenges.
Health in Mozambique has a complex history, influenced by the social, economic, and political changes that the country has experienced. Before the Mozambican Civil War, healthcare was heavily influenced by the Portuguese. After the civil war, the conflict affected the country's health status and ability to provide services to its people, breeding the host of health challenges the country faces in present day.
The quality of health in Rwanda has historically been very low, both before and immediately after the 1994 genocide. In 1998, more than one in five children died before their fifth birthday, often from malaria. But in recent years Rwanda has seen improvement on a number of key health indicators. Between 2005 and 2013, life expectancy increased from 55.2 to 64.0, under-5 mortality decreased from 106.4 to 52.0 per 1,000 live births, and incidence of tuberculosis has dropped from 101 to 69 per 100,000 people. The country's progress in healthcare has been cited by the international media and charities. The Atlantic devoted an article to "Rwanda's Historic Health Recovery". Partners In Health described the health gains "among the most dramatic the world has seen in the last 50 years".
Zambia is a landlocked country in Sub Saharan Africa which experiences a burden of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. In line with WHO agenda for equity in health, it has adopted the Universal Health Coverage agenda to mitigate the challenges faced within the health sector. The Ministry of Health (MOH) provides information pertaining to Zambian health. The main focus of the Ministry of Health has been provision of uninterrupted care with emphasis on health systems strengthening and services via the primary health care approach.
Maternal health in Angola is a very complicated issue. In the Sub-Saharan region of Africa where Angola is located, poor maternal health has been an ongoing problem contributing to the decreased level of health in the population in the early 21st century.
The Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) was founded over 30 years ago by Phyllis Tilson Piotrow as a part the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's department of Health, Behavior, and Society and is located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
Expenditure on health in Senegal was 4.7% of GDP in 2014, US$107 per capita.