Namibia News

Namibia hosted the 2^nd National Health Assembly on 21 February to take stock of achievements of the past year and coordinate health interventions of partners in the country.  During his opening remarks, the Minister of Health and Social Services, Hon. Dr Kalumbi Shangula, reiterated the government’s commitment towards the health of its people which has translated in major milestones in the health sector.

Global leaders met in September last year to set a roadmap for accelerated action to end TB in line with the sustainable development goals.  This year’s World TB Day theme ‘It’s time’ – puts the accent on the urgency to act on the commitments made by global leaders to:  scale up access to prevention and treatment; build accountability; ensure sufficient and sustainable financing including for research; promote an end to stigma and discrimination, and promote an equitable, rights-based and people-centered TB response.  Despite being declared a major public health concern 20 y

A case of Guinea worm disease (GWD) was confirmed in Angola in June 2018.  The case, an eight-year girl, hails from the Cunene Province in Angola, which borders Ohangwena and Omusati Regions in Namibia.  In response, Angolan authorities, with WHO support, carried out further case searches in three southern provinces of the country, including Cunene.

The World Health Organization (WHO) in Namibia in collaboration with the Windhoek City Runners Club (WCRC) hosted the first ‘Walk/Run for Health’ event on Saturday, 27 April at Daan Viljoen police checkpoint. The event was held to celebrate World Health Day, which took place earlier this month, as well as the 71^st Anniversary of  WHO.

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Hon. Dr.

The Ministry of Health and Social Services has recommitted itself to ending the Hepatitis E virus Outbreak which has claimed 41 lives since December 2017.  A National Health Emergency Management Committee was activated since confirmation of the outbreak and the Ministry has engaged partners and mobilized resources to respond to the outbreak.  Despite these control measures, the disease persists and has now spread to more than 7 of the 14 regions in the country. 

Twenty four  (24) health care workers graduated from a 3 month programme on field epidemiology and laboratory training programme with support from WHO and CDC.  The trainees were selected from health districts affected by the ongoing HEP E virus outbreak.  Although the programme cuts across public health emergencies and threats, the trainees are expected to strengthen surveillance on hepatitis E virus and improve daily reporting of cases.  The training was a response to findings of the WHO Rapid Assessment report which highlighted active case search and weekly reporting of cases challenges 

Namibia joined the rest of the world in commemorating the World Health Day under the theme ‘universal health coverage: everyone, everywhere’. The protracted Hepatitis E outbreak was the central theme in the speakers’ messages reiterating the urgency to provide water and sanitation services to the urban poor especially those living in informal settlements.

Country Context
Namibia is situated in the south-western part of Africa bordered by Angola in the north, Zambia and Zimbabwe in the northeast, Botswana to the east, South Africa in the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.  It is the thirty-fourth largest country in the world occupying an area of 824,292 km2 and the least densely populated country second to Mongolia.  Ninety two percent of the land area is defined as hyper-arid, arid or semi-arid. The county is also characterized by a high income inequality with a Gini coefficient of 0.572.

The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) is currently implementing the WHO/AFRO II larviciding demonstration project in six districts in Omusati, Oshikoto, Ohangwena, Kavango East and West regions where malaria is transmitted.  The project aims to strengthen national capacity for implementing diversified mosquito control measures to contribute towards malaria elimination.