ANGOP: Covid-19 - Angola Joins African "Saving Lives" Campaign

ANGOP issued the following announcement on August 20.

African countries, including Angola, will soon launch a campaign to protect borders, travel, economy and the schooling activity.

Gathered virtually last Tuesday, the ministers of Health and Transport of the African Union Commission for Social Affairs, Infrastructure and Energy analyzed the premises of the campaign "Saving Lives, Economies and Livelihoods", to be operational in the continent at this stage of the pandemic.

At the meeting, Angola was represented by the ministers of Transport, Ricardo D'Abreu, and of Health, Sílvia Lutucuta, according to a note from the Transport sector to which ANGOP has had access.

The joint virtual ministerial meeting sought to obtain, among other results, a harmonized approach in outlining the coordination of the opening of borders (sea, air and land), recommendations on joint response initiatives, including global secure connectivity through facilitation of regional, maritime and logistical corridors, the restart and recovery of the African air transport sector, safe urban mobility and improved access to livelihoods in rural economies

Recommendations

The ministers recommended the improvement of surveillance against Covid-19 and the sharing of data, mechanisms, processes and technological applications, on the sharing of data in inter and intra-economic regions.

They also recommended that a coordinated approach be taken to develop test programmes in schools and to travel within the continent, to leverage school health programmes, using the "PACT" initiative approach to community risk assessment and management.

The joint virtual ministerial meeting is the result of a consultation process that has been underway since the beginning of this year.

It is carried out following the increase in globally confirmed Covid-19 cases and its rapid expansion and in response to the Chairperson of the African Union Commission who convened an emergency meeting of AU Health Ministers on February 22, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Until 18th of August of this year, in Angola, 1,966 cases were registered, with 90 deaths, 667 recovered and 1,209 active.

About 93.7% of the cases are asymptomatic.

Original source can be found here.