EMBAIXADA DOS E.U.A.
SERVIÇO DE IMPRENSA, CULTURA E EDUCAÇÃO
LUANDA, ANGOLA
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release November 7, 2017
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT AND UNITEL PARTNER TO COMBAT MALARIA IN ANGOLA
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNITEL have entered a partnership agreement to optimize malaria prevention and control efforts. The partnership aims at increasing the availability and use of insecticide treated mosquito nets and malaria-related information in Angola.
The agreement allows USAID to tap into UNITEL’s mobile services to make malaria information available to UNITEL customers throughout Angola. Through improved connectivity, more Angolans will have free access to behavior change messages promoting the use of mosquito nets. The partnership will also expedite the Angolan health system’s transition from paper to digital information systems.
As Angola’s leading telecommunication services provider, UNITEL currently has more than 11 million customers and approximately 3,500 employees, making it one of the largest private employers in the country. UNITEL’s largest corporate social responsibility initiative is its Stop Malaria Program.
USAID is supporting MINSA’s national campaign to distribute nearly 10 million mosquito nets to every households in 15 provinces. USAID is also providing assistance to MINSA for the national implementation of two proven software (DHIS2 and OpenLMIS) for better, faster access to malaria surveillance and supply chain data.
Speaking on the partnership, USAID Mission Director Derrick Brown commented: “improving access to more accurate, timely, and complete information during peak malaria epidemics—including infection numbers, geographic spread and availability of medicines—will save lives. With technical assistance from USAID, UNITEL and other partners, Angola’s current plans to transition from paper-based to more digital data systems will be critical to the country’s ability to avoid stock-outs of antimalarial drugs in health centers and can result in better malaria services.”
For further information please contact the Public Affairs Section via e-mail pressluanda@state.gov or by telefone 222-641-000.
