Angola–Cuba relations that Angola's large oil reserves would serve well to make it a rich and strong backer of a Marxist expansion, Cuba focused on primarily supporting Angolan Marxist rebel movements over the liberation movements of other Portuguese colonies, thus beginning the special relationship between Cuba and Angola. Portugal set Angola's independence date for 11 November 1975. Three prominent liberation movements contended for the role of leading the newly formed independent country, namely: UNITA, FNLA and the MPLA. Each of the three movements received foreign assistance, UNITA from western countries, FNLA from China (and later from the West) and MPLA from the
HIV/AIDS in Angola the treatment regimen. This is seen in Angola as well, as only 39% of all individuals placed on ART are known to have been still taking it 12 months after beginning treatment. The 27-year civil war in Angola, lasting from 1975 until 2002, kept the spread of HIV to a minimum due to large parts of the country being inaccessible to people infected with the virus. During the civil war, individuals from neighboring countries such as Zambia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe (all countries with high prevalence rates of HIV) were also not allowed to come into the country, which played a