IMVF will support the Santomean Government in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic through the project to Support the Support to the COVID-19 pandemic response in Sao Tome and Principe, financed in about 500 thousand euros by the European Union and Portuguese Cooperation.
The main objective of this project is to strengthen Sao Tome and Principe’s capacities in its response to epidemics and, specifically, to provide emergency support and strengthen the intrinsic capacity of the Santomean national health system in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic in the country.
It should be noted that the implementation of this project was also due to the collaboration developed with the European Union Delegation in the Republic of Gabon, which ensures the diplomatic representation of the EU in the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe.
IMVF collaborates with the Santomean state in improving the country’s national health system, currently through the Health for All – Towards Sustainability project, financed by Portuguese Cooperation and the Portuguese General Directorate of Health, working to promote the improvement, autonomy and progressive sustainability of preventive, primary and specialised health care provision in the country.
Thus, in addition to the response to COVID-19, IMVF also strengthens its actions to support the San Tomean national health system, keeping programs for prevention, treatment and cure of other diseases that affect the population active.
In the framework of Health for All – Towards Sustainability, the installation of the first Gastroenterology Unit in Sao Tome and Principe stands out, made possible thanks to the financial support of Santa Casa da Misericórdia and the Portuguese Cooperation, which will enable all the examinations in this specialty, such as high and low endoscopy, colonoscopy, among others. And the conclusion, this year, of the long-term specialist training in Portugal of 4 Santomean doctors in the specialties of Gastroenterology, Imageology, Ophthalmology and Gynaecology and Obstetrics, an action financed by Portuguese Cooperation, with the aim of strengthening the capacities of the national Santomean health system and the sustainability of this Programme.
IMVF’s commitment to cooperation with the Santomean State began in 1988, precisely in the area of health care, and since then IMVF has been developing an integrated project strategy, extending its intervention to other key areas to improve the population’s quality of life, such as Education, Food Security and Institutional Strengthening, thus contributing to the effective Sustainable Development of the country, based on the spirit of partnership that guides all the interventions developed.