Over 1,500 medical doctors jobless in Angola

Luanda. Angola has more than 1,500 unemployed medical doctors, an official said.

Health ministry State Secretary ltino Matias said the doctors were trained in the country and abroad.

Mr Matias said among the jobless doctors were 200 who returned to Angola recently after training in Cuba.

He expressed the sentiments on Saturday in his address at the first National Congress of the Doctors of Angola.

“The government has been making investments to reverse this situation by hiring some of them despite the country’s real economic capacity,” said Mr Itino.

Angola currently boasts of just over 6,400 medical doctors for its about 28 million population.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the southern African country should have at least 28,000 medical doctors in a full time employment.

The head of the Angolan national medical doctors syndicate (SINMEA), Dr Adriano Manuel, said low salaries, poor work conditions and lack of medical equipment were among their main concerns.

“I confess, if I were not working for a private clinic, I would have serious problems fending for my family because the state does not pay well,” he said.  

A medical doctor's salary in Angola ranges between $864-972 monthly (Kwanzas 160,000-180,000).

Approximately one in five children in Angola still dies before the age of five from malaria, while life expectancy stands at 52 years.

While the political will for reform exists, current health facilities were not only inadequate, but also inaccessible to the majority of the population.

The situation has forced some Angolans to seek treatment abroad while others prefer the more expensive private facilities.

Until recently, many large private firms, particularly oil companies, had their own clinics and health systems to provide services to their employees.

The Angolan health sector, like many others, were affected during the devastating civil war that raged on for 27 years.