Angola

Children in the province of Cunene

A 27-year civil war crippled the Angolan health system, leaving many citizens without access to health services. Malaria—a serious public health concern—causes 35% of child deaths and 25% of maternal mortality. To prevent the transmission of malaria, IRS campaigns began in southern Angola in 2006, funded by the President’s Malaria Initiative. Since 2007, all-cause mortality rates for children under five in Angola have decreased by 23%, according to the Malaria Indicator Survey. Although malaria interventions are not widespread enough to have caused the decrease in child mortality, Angola has made progress in strengthening the country’s health system.

In 2015 the PMI AIRS Project shifted its focus of support from IRS campaigns to entomological monitoring activities. In February and March 2015, AIRS Angola conducted the first nationally-representative susceptibility study in nine provinces across the country testing which WHOPES-approved insecticides are effective in controlling the malaria vector. Also in 2015, AIRS Angola worked closely with Angola’s NMCP and DPS to conduct routine field work, working to build in-country capacity to collect entomological data on the malaria vector.

Read the Angola PMI Country Profile to learn more.