The Intermediate Hospital Rundu received N$8.5 million worth of medical equipment from the International University of Management (IUM).
Medical staff say the donation will assist the hospital in providing quality health services to patients from Zambezi, the two Kavango regions and neighbouring Angola.
Among the many items donated are advanced diagnostic and life-support devices, sonar machines, and foetal monitors for expectant mothers; endoscopy towers for internal procedures; infant incubators; and ICU patient monitors for newborns and critically ill patients.
The hospital's superintendent says the gesture is a practical demonstration of what can be achieved when government, academia and the health sector work hand-in-hand towards a shared vision.
"The whole objective of this was to strengthen our healthcare system and to reaffirm our collective commitment to improving the well-being of our people. This is the delivery of accessible, affordable and quality healthcare to all Namibians. This is aligned with the ministry's new vision of world-class health for all," said Medical Superintendent of Intermediate Hospital Rundu, Dr. Theresia Shivera.
The medical devices will enhance the hospital's ability to provide timely and effective medical care, especially since the facility has been struggling to keep up with the ever-growing demand.
Kavango East Governor Hambyuka Hamunyera said, "The hospital has been overcrowded, with congested wards and long waits, and has even lacked some essential medical equipment and staff. Mothers in labour or children in distress have sometimes faced heartbreaking delays or been sent on long journeys of 100 or 700 kilometres before finding help. Such challenges in our health system are real and serious."
Chief Pharmacist in the Kavango East Region, Nelson Olabanji, informed the gathering that "as of the first of April 2026, all public servants, including ministers, should be able to assess their health needs in any of the health facilities and hospitals across the nation. So this donation of medical equipment is bringing us closer to the realisation of this government's dream."
The coordinator at the School of Medicine at IUM, Professor Peter Nyarango, shed more light on an MoU that the university signed with the Health Ministry.
"The parties agreed that they will have some shared responsibilities and obligations. One of them for IUM is that the institution will contribute towards making sure that the operations of the teaching hospitals don't suffer because of a lack of equipment and supplies. So IUM promised and is committed to contributing towards the procurement of supplies by giving them to the Ministry of Health and Social Services. You are the first one to get that kind of donation."