Health Minister Silvia Lutucuta stated that this has been possible thanks to the preventive measures adopted, mainly the active search for the vector fly, in addition to fighting the disease and the providing assertive treatment at health units, especially in the endemic provinces.

Human African trypanosomiasis is a vector-borne parasitic disease. It is transmitted to humans by the bite of tsetse flies, or infected glossina, which have acquired the parasites from infected humans or animals.

It is particularly prevalent among rural populations engaged in agriculture, fishing, or livestock raising, and is characterized by fever, headache, lymphadenopathy, joint pain, and pruritus in the first phase, followed by disruption of the sleep cycle. If left untreated, the disease is often fatal.

The country is also committed to fighting malaria, the leading cause of death in Angola, where this ailment registered a 15 percent year-on-year increase, or more than one million cases in the first quarter of 2024, bringing associated fatalities to a new high.

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