Cabo Verde's government announced on Tuesday the approval and promulgation of a new National Medicines List, a move it says will speed up access to pharmaceuticals and medical treatments, according to RTP.
The Ministry of Health said in a statement that several medicines previously obtainable only through special import authorization requests will now be included officially on the national list.
In practice, the ministry expects the change to sharply cut red tape, bring treatments to patients faster, and give both patients and health professionals more predictability and security, RTP reported.
The announcement accompanies the promulgation of a decree-law covering three separate lists: the new National Medicines List, a list dedicated to medical devices, and a third covering food supplements.
Why it matters
The government describes the decree-law as a structural instrument and one of the deepest reforms of national pharmaceutical policy in recent decades, according to RTP.
Cabo Verde's health ministry frames the update as a direct response to the country's disease burden. Non-communicable chronic diseases are the leading cause of death in the country, and the ministry says the revised list strengthens the response to them.
The reform also matters for how quickly patients can start treatment. Under the previous arrangement, certain products required individual import authorization requests, a step the ministry says added bureaucracy and delay. Moving those medicines onto the official list is intended to remove that bottleneck.
The ministry said the document aligns with World Health Organization recommendations, international best practices, and the country's own epidemiological needs.
Biologics and innovative therapies added
Among the headline changes, the Ministry of Health pointed to the inclusion of biological medicines and innovative therapies for treating oncological, autoimmune, hematological, and neurological diseases, RTP reported.
These are treatment categories that often depend on specialized products rather than standard generics, and their absence from a national list can mean each patient's supply must be arranged case by case.
The ministry also said the update introduces new therapeutic options for high blood pressure, heart failure, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and kidney failure, incorporating what it described as latest-generation medicines.
Taken together, the additions target the chronic conditions the ministry identifies as the country's main mortality driver, rather than focusing only on acute or infectious disease.
Pediatric formulations and infectious disease programs
For children and adolescents, the revised list provides multiple pediatric formulations and dosages adjusted to different age groups. The ministry said this guarantees greater therapeutic safety and better treatment conditions for younger patients, according to RTP.
Dosing that matches a patient's age band is a recurring challenge in pediatric care, where adult formulations are sometimes adapted outside their approved use.
The government also said the measures reinforce programs in the areas of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections.
That places the reform alongside Cabo Verde's existing public health campaigns against communicable diseases, even as the list's stated emphasis falls on chronic, non-communicable conditions.
What to watch
The decree-law has been promulgated, but the practical test will be whether the streamlined list translates into faster delivery of the newly included medicines, biologics, and pediatric formulations at the point of care.
