Health and Social Services Minister, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, says Namibia is making steady progress in the expansion of health care services to far-flung rural areas.

Dr. Shangula is currently assessing outreach and visibility programmes aimed at increasing access to quality health care for vulnerable people in the Kunene Region.

Ensuring access to quality primary health care services is critical to strengthening the public health system. 

Namibia has achieved a TB treatment success rate of 87%, 3% short of its 90% target.

Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, revealed this at the World TB Day held at Luderitz in the Kharas Region. 

With the eleventh highest TB incidence in the world, the World Health Organisation (WHO) listed Namibia as a highly TB-burdened country. 

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, says service delivery in the Kavango East health directorate is set to improve with the allocation of more than N$217 million from the national budget. 

Dr. Shangula, who was speaking at the World Health Day celebrations in Rundu on Monday, says the Ministry of Health is undertaking various capital projects countrywide, and significant changes are expected to take place in Kavango East. 

These include ICU and dialysis-related services.

Despite the relatively low number of tuberculosis (TB) cases in the country, Namibia ranks 11th globally in terms of TB incidence and per capita expenditure on TB treatment. 

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, emphasised that the emergence of multidrug-resistant TB poses a significant health challenge for the country. 

Dr. Shangula made these remarks during the discussion of the Appropriation Bill at the committee stage.

SADC ministers of health convened today in an extraordinary virtual council meeting to discuss coordinated efforts to prevent and control the spread of cholera across the region.

So far, five member states, including Zambia and Zimbabwe, have recorded cholera cases, which have led to hundreds of deaths.

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, joined health ministers from 11 SADC member states in a meeting aimed at regional efforts to tackle the cholera outbreak in the region.

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, has dismissed allegations that Namibia has signed the WHO Pandemic Treaty, which is yet to be adopted since negotiations are ongoing.
 
Dr. Shangula was responding to allegations by the president of the Republican Party that by signing the treaty, Namibia would lose its sovereignty and be subservient to the World Health Organisation's whims.

Dr. Shangula further explained that he did give a statement in the National Assembly and that the matter is not being discussed in secrecy.

Health and Social Services Minister, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, says the implementation of the Public Procurement Act has significantly impacted the availability of medicines and clinical supplies.

In a ministerial statement on the procurement process for pharmaceutical and clinical supplies in the public health sector, Dr. Shangula made a pointed reference to a multimillion-dollar tender for the supply of condoms, surgical gloves, and other items, which caused a public outcry, causing the tender to be cancelled earlier this year.

President Hage Geingob says the newly renovated Emergency Unit at Katutura Intermediate Hospital is just one example of infrastructure to boost the overall healthcare system and effectively deal with emergency medical situations.

Dr. Geingob inaugurated the facility, refurbished at a cost of more than N$3 million.

The Emergency Unit, previously known as the Casualty Unit, is the biggest emergency unit in the country.

The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) has taken the decision to directly procure pharmaceutical and clinical items from suppliers due to challenges with unreliable supplies.

This announcement was made by the Minister, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, during the opening of the Annual National Pharmaceutical Services Forum in Otjiwarongo.

Pharmacists from various districts gathered in Otjiwarongo to address the challenges they encounter in their respective regions.

The Minister of Health and Social Services (MoHSS), Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, says about 2.1 million people in the country depend on public health care services.

Dr. Shangula disclosed this during the donation of various hospital equipment valued at N$1.5 million by Ohorongo Cement and its partners.

Dr. Shangula received the donation consisting of 45 hospital beds, 45 matrasses, 45 bedside tables, 5 treatment tables, 4 infusion stands, 3 bath lifts, and 2 wheelchairs, amongst others.