President João Lourenço Highlights Growth in the Health Sector in Recent Years During the State of the Nation Address

In his State of the Nation Address, President João Lourenço highlighted the country’s progress and the challenges that still lie ahead. Reflecting on Angola’s achievements and the work that remains to be done, the President emphasised the preservation of peace through forgiveness as a foundation for Angolans to continue building a prosperous nation. “This is a meaningful way to contribute to strengthening the Nation and to inspire our collective journey. It is within this framework, and in the spirit of forgiveness, peace, national reconciliation and national unity, that we will extend this national recognition to the signatories of the Alvor Agreements, awarding all of them the commemorative medal marking the 50th Anniversary of National Independence. We have no doubt that this gesture, together with the work we have been carrying out to restore, to the extent possible, the dignity of the victims of political conflicts and to bring comfort and redress to their families, represents an enduring contribution to national reconciliation. For us, 50 is not merely a number. It symbolises recognition of our history of struggle and the preservation of our glorious past. It symbolises peace, forgiveness and our determination to rise together to fulfil our dreams. It symbolises the reaffirmation of our commitment to the values of the Homeland, the confirmation of our hope and the reaffirmation of our confidence. It symbolises our certainty that a united Angola WILL PREVAIL! This is a Nation that learns from its mistakes, overcomes its challenges and celebrates its achievements. This is the State of the Nation that, together, we have been building for 50 years,” the Angolan President said during his State of the Nation Address to the Angolan people. Angolan Head of State João Lourenço also announced at the National Assembly in Luanda that the signatories of the 1975 Alvor Agreement, which was intended to bring an end to the colonial war—MPLA founding leader Agostinho Neto, FNLA leader Holden Roberto and UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi—will be posthumously awarded the commemorative medal marking the 50th Anniversary of Angola’s National Independence.