Namibia News

WHO Country Representative in Namibia, Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses paid a courtesy call to the Regional Governor of the Khomas Region, Honorable Laura Mcleod-Katjirua to harness her office support to the Hepatitis E Outbreak.  In welcoming the WHO delegation, the Governor expressed her office’s and the regional council’s demonstrated committed to containing the outbreak.  She informed the meeting that upon return from the Christmas break they consulted with the City Council to update themselves on the status of the outbreak and the response.

The engagement of different cadres of community leaders continues to be a priority intervention in the containment of the Hepatitis E outbreak.  A total of 10 meetings were held with various community leaders including, leaders of 20 and 30 households, councilors,  traditional healers and traditional birth attendants, in Havana and Goreagab settlements. These meetings were facilitated by the Regional Councilors with support from the Ministry of Health and Social Service, City of Windhoek and WHO.

The Minister of Health and Social Services at a recent press briefing reiterated his ministry’s commitment to contain the Hepatitis E outbreak. 

The President of the Republic of Namibia, His Excellency Dr Hage Geingob accompanied by the Honorable Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Benhard Haufiku, visited the epicenter of the Hepatitis E outbreak in Havana settlement.    During his visit the President stressed the importance of community ownership in maintaining sanitation facilities constructed for their use and responsibility to maintain both personal and environmental hygiene.  He said that the settlement is illegal hence  service provision is limited and is compelled by the movement of people to this area.   

An outbreak of Hepatitis E (HEV) in Windhoek was declared by the Ministry of Health and Social Services on 14 December 2017.  As of 5 January 2018, the Ministry recorded cumulative 214 cases.  Over 39% of the cases are from the Havana informal settlement and 19% from Goreagab Dam area.  Two meetings were held with community leaders from the affected communities on 31 December 2017 and on 6 January 2018.  The meetings were facilitated by Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) and WHO to discuss the outbreak in the community and agree on key action points to halt the active transmissi

A team of experts from the World Health Organization visited Namibia  in August 2017 to assist in the development of a National Action Plan on Health Security.  This was a follow-up to a Joint External Evaluation which was undertaken by a team of 11 experts held in December 2016. The December Evaluation was to determine Namibia’s readiness to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to public health threats, whether they are naturally occurring, deliberate, or accidental.

November 2017

Namibia was the first African nation to ban the routine use of antibiotics in its beef industry, when it passed a law 26 years ago. The thriving industry is proof that large-scale meat production can succeed without squandering one of the most precious resources of modern medicine.

 Today the national taskforce for poliovirus containment in the laboratory met as part of the country’s efforts to maintain its polio free status.  The committee members discussed findings from a field mission reviewing all biomedical laboratories for possible wild poliovirus infectious material while encouraging the destruction of all unneeded materials.  The Ministry aims to strengthen its surveillance system by developing an inventory of all laboratories that retain material which may have potential infectious material.

‘I was slow and sleepy most of the time and this affected my effectiveness at work. It  led to me being demoted at work.  Although I received the same salary, I was frustrated knowing that I could do much more than what was I assigned to me.”  This was part of Mr. Amakali’s testimony has he shared his journey of living with bipolar at a public lecture as part of the World Mental Health Day. He was diagnosed with bipolar since 1998 after his graduation from High School. After spending a year in the Mental Health Unit, Mr. Amakali was fortunate to work at a local bank.

The Honorable Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Juliet Kavetuna on 05 October 2017 launched the Namibia 2014-2015 Health Accounts Report.  This report presents the findings of Namibia’s Health Accounts exercise for the 2014/15 fiscal year, which is Namibia’s fifth round of Health Accounts and is the second round conducted using the System of Health Accounts (SHA) 2011 methodology. The report is the result of well-planned and organized multidisciplinary efforts of the different players including WHO.