Doctors with Africa Cuamm’s activities in Angola began in 1997 and was initially concentrated in the province of Uige, before expanding to the provinces of Luanda and Kunene.

In 2004 peace negotiations were finally concluded. The government’s commitment can now most certainly be seen in terms of its investments and the desire to reclaim the areas abandoned during the war, but the reorganisation of the public administration has to take into account the scarce availability of managerial ability and experience.

To this end, in the areas where the health system has started working again, Doctors with Africa Cuamm has shifted its focus from emergency situations to development. Where the existing structures have still to be set in motion, Doctors with Africa is looking to reopen and render operative the existing health care structures.

Notwithstanding the commitment of government counterparts to channel human and financial resources within public service departments, it is difficult to conceive that the health system can quickly become self-sufficient. The Doctors with Africa Cuamm project is therefore necessary and important, particularly in the area of training human resources for the management of health-care structures and in essential clinical activities.