“We need a better quality of health in Cape Verde – and no more than that”
In this article, we will explore the different aspects of the health service in Cape Verde, from its structure and organization to the challenges and opportunities it faces.
In Cape Verde, the health service has undergone several changes and challenges over the years. The country has made significant progress in improving the health of its population, but there is still much to be done.
The organization of the health service in the country is structured on three levels:
Central, regional and local level. At the central level, the Ministry of Health is responsible for defining health policy and managing the sector’s financial and human resources.
Unfortunately, the health sector is still part of the government’s governing body. And the department works with the funds made available to it each year. And obviously, this is not enough, which in one way or another affects the quality of education in the country.
At regional level, the health regions are responsible for implementing health policy at island level, which is why there is a hospital on each island and some health posts.
But even so, these hospitals are not very sophisticated, so in some serious situations, patients are evacuated to Praia hospital, the largest in the country, which has better conditions than the others.
At the local level, health centers and health posts are responsible for providing health care in the communities.
To talk about the quality of health care in Cape Verde is to talk, first and foremost, about humanization. All but a few professionals need to improve their treatment of patients, especially pregnant women and the elderly.
Professionals need to be more “human”. But that doesn’t mean they don’t know how to treat people well. It simply needs to improve.
With regard to medical reinforcement, every year Cape Verde receives many doctors from other countries who come to reinforce the work of the doctors in the country, and naturally so does the quality.
Despite this, it is well known that in Cape Verde the public health service is not very reliable.
Often, a patient has a health problem and even though they have consultations in the country, they travel to another country for treatment because the treatment in Cape Verde doesn’t seem to work.
When the person arrives in a foreign country, the diagnosis of the disease is always different. Which leads one to think that if the person continued to the first consultation, they would supposedly die, a priori because of the doctors’ fault.
However, in terms of the organization, cleanliness and structure of hospitals and health centers, Cape Verde stands out in Africa.
Despite all this, there is still a shortage of health professionals in the country, especially doctors and specialists.
For these and other reasons, the health service in Cape Verde has great potential for improvement.
But the government, the private sector and civil society should work together to face the challenges and seize the opportunities to improve the services provided and the quality of health of the Cape Verdean population
