In recent years Portugal has achieved success in tackling childhood obesity – one of the main health challenges in the WHO (World Health Organization) European Region – with their sugary drinks tax. Childhood obesity is obviously a complex public health issue, caused by many factors, it intersects significantly with socioeconomic status, for example. As obesity can establish behaviours at a young and vulnerable age, the government felt they had a duty to protect children from a phenomenon that can ultimately become a health burden for the rest of their lives.

The Government will invest 2.8 million euros in the Hospitals of Faro and Portimão. The announcement was made by Jamila Madeira, Secretary of State for Health, on Monday. The Algarvian official, who was in Faro for a meeting with the Board of Directors of the University Hospital Centre of the Algarve (CHUA) in subsequent contact with press confirmed that this investment will be divided between Faro and Portimão.

A quick-thinking octogenarian, lying injured in a ditch and ‘missed’ by searchers alerted to her disappearance, managed to save herself from a freezing night in the open by sending a video message via her phone to her grandson. The youngster – fortunately awake when the message came through at midnight – rushed to show it to Sintra firefighters who were then able to locate the missing woman and transport her to hospital.

Following allegations of rigging in the system of allocating judges, president of Lisbon’s Court of Appeal Orlando Nascimento has resigned with immediate effect.

A letter tendering his resignation was requested last week and reportedly received on Monday. Meantime, public prosecutors are deciding whether Judge Nascimento is to be added to the charge sheet of corruption investigation Operation Lex which has already cited his predecessor Luís Vaz Neves (click here).

Article by kind permission of The Portugal Resident

The municipality of Faro will begin on Sunday to charge a tourist tax in the amount of 1.5 euros per night, with the expectation of raising 500 thousand euros throughout 2020, a councillor from the municipality revealed to Lusa today.

A petition with roughly 6,000 signatures is calling for action to save the Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina Natural Park (PNSACV) from the uncontrolled advance of intensive agriculture is set to be discussed today in the Assembly of the Republic.

"The Algarve is one of the regions most susceptible to climate change - it is exposed to the risk of coastal erosion, drought, and fire", warned Prime-Minister António Costa this weekend at an inauguration during his visit to Quarteira.

Faro Hospital is prepared and can become a reference unit for coping with the Coronavirus (Covid-19) "as soon as necessary", Paulo Morgado, president of the Regional Health Administration (ARS) of the Algarve, has claimed.