Cape Verde's Social Protection System Cuts Infant Mortality to Among Africa's Lowest

Lemira Gomes, a 39-year-old cook, arrived on time for her appointment in early July with the Cape Verdean Association for Family Protection (Verdefam). Every three months, she returns to the NGO's offices in Praia, the capital of the country made up of 10 islands scattered off the Senegalese coast. Well known in the archipelago, the organization has offered family planning services, medical follow-up for pregnant women, and treatment for sexually transmitted infections such as HIV since 1995. Gomes took a Hiace, one of the cheap shared minibuses, and then another bus to reach the clinic, a 30-minute journey from her home under scorching heat.

"Here, I have my habits. I am well taken care of," she said. In an air-conditioned room with white and green walls, Ondina Santos, a 34-year-old midwife, took her blood pressure, checked her weight, and asked about any problems related to her menstrual cycle, then administered a contraceptive injection.

I already have five children, I don't want a sixth, Gomes smiled. The visit costs 150 escudos, or 1.36 euros. Cape Verde has gradually built an effective social protection system, and its infant mortality rate is now among the lowest on the African continent.