Ministry of Health and WHO sign $2.4 million Work Plan for the next two years

The document that will guide the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) activities in Cape Verde over the next two years (2026–2027) was initialled on Tuesday 31 March by the Minister of Health, Jorge Figueiredo, and the WHO Representative, Ann Lindstrand.

This is the Work Plan, which aims to ensure compliance with the WHO’s principle of transparency in planning and budgeting activities, and which sets out the priority areas for action, taking into account the sustainable development of the health sector, with clearly defined funding and monitoring mechanisms.

As the first biennial plan under the WHO’s 14th General Programme of Work for the period 2025–2028, adopted at the 77th World Health Assembly in May 2024, it is now the management tool that will enable the strengthening of priority actions in the areas of health determinants, the primary health care approach, strengthening essential system capacities for universal health coverage, improving equity and the quality of services, and aims to prepare the country for emerging health risks.

According to the Minister of Health, this is a moment of great political, institutional and strategic significance, as it reaffirms Cape Verde’s clear commitment to continuing to build its health system on the basis of serious, credible and results-oriented partnerships, and strengthens the trust between the two institutions.

According to Jorge Figueiredo, this work plan does not stand alone; it forms part of a very important phase in the history of the health sector, as other policy and planning instruments are being consolidated, namely the Health Charter and the National Health Policy 2025–2030.

“Today, Cape Verde’s challenges can no longer be understood in terms of traditional needs. We are faced with a more complex picture, characterised by the rise in chronic non-communicable diseases, increased pressure on hospital services, the need to strengthen mental health provision, the progressive ageing of the population, demands regarding the quality and safety of care, the sustainability of funding, the need for better data analytics, and the increasingly evident impacts of climate change on health.”

The WHO Representative in Cape Verde, meanwhile, said that this plan reflects a commitment, collaboration and technical contribution in line with the WHO’s global mandate to advance health alongside the organisation’s other 182 Member States. She noted that over the past 50 years, the country has demonstrated exemplary leadership in the field of public health, with achievements such as certification as a malaria-free country, the elimination of measles and rubella, the strengthening of emergency responses, as well as advances in mental health, non-communicable diseases, health promotion and, most recently, the performance of the first kidney transplant.

According to Ann Lindstrand, the joint signing of this plan not only complies with the WHO’s principles of transparency in its planning and budgeting process, but also reaffirms a solid, mature partnership based on mutual trust, built up over many years of collaboration with the Government of Cape Verde.

The WHO Work Plan for 2026–2027 is aligned with the WHO’s strategy for cooperation with the Government; above all, it reflects national health priorities and aims to address the current health challenges in Cape Verde.

The consolidation of strategic investment in universal health cover, the strengthening of primary care, quality and safety in the provision of care, sustainable health financing, a commitment to medicines regulation, digital transformation, and the strengthening of the workforce, whilst also focusing on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, mental health, maintaining progress towards the elimination of malaria, strengthening immunisation throughout the life cycle, and addressing antimicrobial resistance, as well as preparing for responses to climate shocks, amongst other things, are set out in this WHO Work Plan for 2026–2027.

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