Morocco sends Cape Verde 317 thousand euros worth of oncology medication

Morocco provided Cape Verde on Tuesday with 317 thousand euros’ worth of oncology medications, reported Portuguese news outlet Impala.

The pharmaceutical products were handed over to Cape Verdean Minister of Health, Filomena Gonçalves in Praia, by the advisor and representative of the Moroccan Embassy in Dakar Adil Khlifi.

“It is a special moment in the cooperation between the two countries,” acknowledged Khlifi, as this volume pharmaceutical offering aims to improve treatments and reduce the need for patient transfers abroad, according to the same source.

“The symbolic importance of providing these medications corresponds to similar reciprocal acts conducted by our two countries in the past,” stated the Moroccan representative, hoping that this gesture will initiate a “new phase” of bilateral cooperation.

He further underscored that the idea is for both countries to join efforts to “achieve health security and sovereignty in the region and across the continent.”

In this regard, Minister Gonçalves stated that this is a “considerable quantity of oncology medications that have recently started to be used and are still in high demand in the international market.”

“These medications will provide a better quality of life for cancer patients and will also give them more hope,” aspired the Cape Verdean Minister, stressing that this offering is part of an agreement inked in May 2023 in the 2nd Joint Commission between the two countries.

Gonçalves further explained that this pharmaceutical offering is expected to enable its country to reduce the transfer of cancer patients abroad, particularly to Portugal, where official data shows that 109 transfers were made in 2019 and 82 in 2020.

In addition to the economic costs, the Cape Verdean Minister highlighted the social costs of this offering as it is expected to facilitate patient’s recovery in their familiar environment.

She considered that this value would have a “very strong impact” on the government’s package for the acquisition of medications, which are distributed free of charge in the country, where there is only one cancer center located in Praia.

The Morocco-Cape Verdean diplomatic has begun to strengthen since August 2022 when the northwestern African country opened a consulate in the city of Dakhla.