The United States has promised to provide Angola 80 percent of malaria medicines free of charge, a senior health official said here on Tuesday.

Filomeno Fortes, the coordinator of Angola's National Program against Malaria, made the announcement at the opening session of a three-day National Workshop on Control of Malaria in Communities.

She said the U. S. government is the main partner in the "Roll Back Malaria" campaign in the country, whose goal is to eradicate the disease in Angola in 2014.

The Angolan Ministry of Health worked out a new strategic plan in 2007 to stop the use of Clorochine, increase the supply of mosquito nets and introduce a preventive measure against malaria for pregnant women with the use of Fansidar.

"Judging from the results obtained over the last two years, we are optimistic that in 2012 it is possible for malaria not to be the main cause of death in Angola," she said.

The three-day workshop aims at analyzing the role of the civil society and partners in the implementation of the National Strategic Plan of "Roll Back Malaria" campaign.

According to the World Health Organization, malaria kills about 3 million people and affects some 500 million others every year.

(Xinhua News Agency August 26, 2009)