Namibia News

Windhoek—At 13 years old, Andre Hansen thought smoking was simply part of growing up.

Like many teenagers trying to fit in, he smoked his first cigarette in the company of other boys in his neighbourhood of Windhoek, Namibia’s capital. What began as experimentation quickly turned into a 17-year-long dependence that would eventually open the door to psychoactive substance use, the loss of relationships, stability and self-esteem.

Today, at 33 years old, Hansen has been tobacco-free and abstained from other substance use for more than two years.

Windhoek—During an engagement with media houses on responsible reporting of suicide and suicide attempts, the Ministry of Health and Social Services reported that 1474 Namibians had lost their lives by suicide over the past three years.

Gaborone—Eight Southern African countries – Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe are joining forces to Prevent, detect and respond to disease outbreaks before they spread to communities.

Windhoek—Namibia officially launched the World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) 2025 on 18 November, joining the global community in marking the annual campaign held from 18 to 24 November. The theme for 2025, “Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future”, emphasized the urgent need for bold, coordinated action to address the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Windhoek—Public Health Emergency Operations Centres (PHEOCs) are essential platforms for managing the full spectrum of the Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) cycle, from preparedness and detection to response, recovery and post-event evaluation.

Windhoek—On 14 November 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) joined the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS) in commemorating World Diabetes Day under the theme “Diabetes Across Life Stages”.

Windhoek—The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a week-long assisted self-benchmarking exercise aimed at strengthening Namibia’s national regulatory system for medical products.

Windhoek—The World Health Organization (WHO) visited the Namibia Blood Transfusion Service (NamBTS) Headquarters in Windhoek to gain an in-depth understanding of the organization’s operations and identify potential areas for closer collaboration.

Zambezi Region—The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), supported the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) to conduct a two-day orientation workshop in the Zambezi region. The training focused on the legal and policy framework for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV), from 3 - 4 November 2025.

Windhoek—The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS), with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, successfully conducted Namibia’s second Joint External Evaluation (JEE) from 20–24 October 2025. The evaluation assessed the country’s national capacities to prevent, detect, report and respond to public health threats and provided an opportunity for the country to develop evidence-based priority actions to review and update the National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) 2021–2025 strategy that will come to an end this year.