Angola–Cuba Declaration of 1984 on 11 November 1975, with Agostinho Neto becoming the first president, though the civil war continued. José Eduardo Dos Santos became the first elected President of Angola from the MPLA-LT and continued to get the support of Cuba. Angola was a colony of Portugal for more than 400 years from the 15th century. The demand for independence in Angola picked up momentum during the early 1950s. The Portuguese régime, refused to accede to the demands for independence, provoking an armed conflict that started in 1961 when freedom fighters attacked both white and black civilians in cross-border operations in northeastern Angola,
Health in Angola vaccination against polio and vitamin A supplementation. Angola has a large HIV/AIDS infected population. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated adult prevalence at the end of 2003 at 3.9% – over 420,000 infected people. Angola's 27-year civil war (1975–2002), deterred the spread of HIV by making large portions of the country inaccessible. Angola was thus cut off from most contact with neighboring countries that had higher HIV infection rates. With the end of the war, transportation routes and communication are reopening, therefore enabling a greater potential for the spread of HIV/AIDS. Current statistics indicate that the border