Despite long distances and a lack of transportation for remote Ovahimba communities, medical outreach programs continue to reach out to them.

This week, over 40 people, including pregnant and lactating mothers and children at Kunene Region along the Kunene River, flocked to receive medical attention brought in by helicopter.

The outreach is part of government efforts to bring services closer to the communities living in remote areas.

According to Chief Medical Officer, Dr Mugisha Barongo, outreach exercises are done at least once a month in areas hard to reach by car. "The importance of this program is to bring services closer to the community. As you can see, we flew over the Kunene River Mouth until we reached this side, and we managed to see a lot of people. These people are migrating from one side to the other. So today we managed to cover plus minus 4, and you can see we got a lot of mothers with kids under 5, but we managed to see all of them. The meaning of outreach is to make sure that we bring services closer to the community and that we managed. We achieved it."

Some community members shared their satisfaction with the outreach programs, noting that they are challenged in terms of transport to reach Otjinungua Clinic, which is the nearest health facility, located hundreds of kilometres away.

Otjavaya village, located northwest of the Kunene Region, is home to a group of over 100 Ovahimba.