President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has reiterated her call that civil servants start using state medical facilities for treatment.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah announced that the government spends about N$3.6 billion on public servants' medical aid as a benefit.

She said this is no small amount that the government spends, and repeated her plea that civil servants make use of state health facilities.

The use of state health facilities by civil servants, the President said, would bring these facilities on par with private health facilities.

"We have the option for medical aid, and then we go for private practices; we don't use the state facilities. That's why I said Minister of Health, with your team I have given the time frame, we will start with senior civil servants, politicians, and the government medical aid will be there, but you and I, we should use the state facilities so that we are serious to make sure that these facilities are put to standard to serve the nation properly, you know it is just fair."

The recent statistics provided by the police on suicide incidents linked to mental health are also a cause of concern for President Nandi-Ndaitwah.

124 people have committed suicide between January and June this year.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah appealed to those serving in public offices to extend compassion and dignified treatment to the public when they seek services.

"That is what I have committed, and I said I want to also respond accordingly so that we serve our people to the best of our ability. When you just go to Katutura, comrades, how do you feel? When you see shacks burning in Swakop and Walvis Bay, what do you feel? When you see people dying somewhere, food poisoning, and so on, what do you feel? Can you really sleep? Me, I don't sleep."

President Nandi-Ndaitwah was speaking during the first-ever address to the public servants in Windhoek.