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ANGOLA: Fun and games in the fight against AIDS

Under the noonday sun in Angola's capital, Luanda, two soccer teams are preparing to play, but the heat does not seem to faze them or the 350 young people and children waiting for the game to begin. The match was one of the activities in the Desposida programme, an initiative by local NGO Cuidados da Infância (Childhood Care in Portuguese), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Angolan Ministry of Health, that uses sports to teach the concepts of camaraderie and non-violence and spread...

Ebola alert shuts Angolan border

The authorities in Angola say they have closed part of the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. Angolan officials said all movement of people from northern Luande Norte province to DR Congo would be stopped. The outbreak in DR Congo was the first in Africa in several months and the fourth in DRC since 1976. It is believed to have infected at least 40 people of which more than ten have died.

ANGOLA: Government pledges to provide better health care

JOHANNESBURG Wednesday, October 01, 2008 (IRIN) - Angola's new government is promising better health facilities at both primary and secondary care levels, as well as to reduce the prevalence of HIV/AIDS over the next four years. The oil- and diamond-rich nation went to the polls earlier this month and returned the ruling MPLA party to power with more than four-fifths of the votes, giving it 191 seats in the 220-member legislature. UNITA, the largest opposition party, only managed to garner 10...

ANGOLA: Prevention made in China

LUANDA Wednesday, November 12, 2008 (IRIN) - The best place to gauge the extent of China's growing role in Angola is at the Quatro de Fevereiro airport in the capital, Luanda, where crowds of Chinese wait their turn to have their passports stamped. One immigration official complained to anyone who cared to listen: "These Chinese come to Angola and can't even understand what they're being asked." The arriving passengers may not speak Portuguese, Angola's national language, but they have good...

Angola Bad Choice to Host World Habitat Day

The choice of the Angolan capital Luanda to lead the global observance of this year's World Habitat Day provoked controversy among housing and human rights organizations. In a joint letter to the Executive Director of The United Nations Human Settlements Programme UN-HABITAT, who organized the event, Amnesty International, the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, the Habitat International Coalition and Human Rights Watch have all voiced their concerns about the choice of venue. The Angolan...

ANGOLA: How free will the elections be?

The prospect of Angola holding free and fair parliamentary elections in September is diminishing, according to a recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), a watchdog organisation. Georgette Gagnon, HRW's Africa director, said in a statement that with "less than a month before elections, it's clear Angolans aren't able to campaign free from intimidation or pressure and unless things change now, Angolans won't be able to cast their votes freely." The poll for the National Assembly is scheduled...

ANGOLA: Should intentional HIV/AIDS infection be a crime?

Proposed reforms to Angola's Penal Code have divided opinion in the country about whether HIV-positive people who intentionally infect others with the virus should be punished. The law under discussion calls for a sentence of between three and 10 years in prison for those who knowingly pass on infectious diseases, including HIV. Some argue that the law will act as a deterrent; others say it will bring more problems than benefits. "Criminalisation is going to backfire. It goes...

ANGOLA: Flooding brings surge in cholera

Widespread flooding in southern Angola has been blamed for a surge in cholera, with 4,500 cases of the waterborne disease reported this year, and 150 fatalities. According to Angola's health ministry, there were 590 new cases in the week running up to 31 March, up from the 503 cases reported the previous week. About half of the infections were in Angola's southern provinces of Cunene and Huila, which have been hard hit by flooding.  According to the UN Office for the Coordination of...

ANGOLA: To tell or not to tell, that is the tricky question

Maria Antónia* began to wonder about her husband's frequent trips to neighbouring South Africa, especially when he was away for 15 days without contacting her on one occasion. She decided to investigate whether he was going to South Africa to see another woman, but discovered that he was going to get antiretroviral (ARV) medication because he was HIV positive. Miguel André's wife died in 2001, officially from typhoid fever, but before she died she told her child's godmother that she had...

ANGOLA-DRC: Activists denounce political apathy towards migrant rape victims

Human rights activists in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have accused their government and that of Angola of turning a blind eye to reports of widespread rape and other abuses of DRC migrant workers in neighbouring Angola. “The situation seems to be getting worse but the Angolan and Congolese authorities we have repeatedly approached show no political will to end the situation,” said Floribert Chebeya, who heads Voice of the Voiceless, a DRC NGO. Amigo Gonde, president of the...