São Tomé cuts malaria cases to 4,000–5,000
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Rádio Somos Todos Primos
São Tomé’s Health Minister Celso Matos acknowledges deteriorating health indicators over 2016–2025, while reporting a fall in malaria cases to about 4,000 or 5,000 in 2025 from more than 7,000 in 2024. He also cites progress against HIV and in access to care, according to Rádio Somos Todos Primos.
The number of malaria cases in São Tomé and Príncipe fell from more than 7,000 in 2024 to between 4,000 and 5,000 in 2025, Health Minister Celso Matos said in an interview with Rádio Somos Todos Primos. He also reported progress in the fight against HIV and in access to healthcare.
Celso Matos acknowledged that the Ibrahim Index of African Governance ranked São Tomé and Príncipe second among African countries for the greatest deterioration in the health sector over the 2016–2025 decade. He nevertheless stressed that the current government had been in office for only two years and that the deterioration had been greatest in 2024, before stabilising in 2025, according to Rádio Somos Todos Primos.
The minister said the country had health posts in almost all its districts and was seeking to assign a doctor to each of them. He also described non-communicable diseases, particularly strokes, diabetes and hypertension, as a major problem for São Tomé and Príncipe’s health system. The statement came after São Tomé and Príncipe fell to 13th place in the Ibrahim Index, published on 1 November.
