The Okalongo Health Center in the Omusati Region is facing a shortage of medical staff.

The health center serves more than 56,980 people, and this number excludes Angolan nationals, who make use of the facility as well.

This was said by Senior Registered Nurse Amupala Eliakim during the handing over of building materials donated by the Ombandja Traditional Authority to the health center.

The Okalongo Health Center was established in 1992, and there is currently a doctor, nine nurses, one driver, three institutional workers, and two emergency care practitioners.

The health center attends to over 600 patients a day, and the health workers say they are overburdening the already limited staff.

The center, which is open 24 hours a day, needs ten more nurses and two more medical doctors to render effective services.

The center has three ambulances and only one driver.

"As the unit manager of the facility, I also work as a driver, so I hope our government can assist us in revising our staff establishment so that we can receive additional working staff," Eliakem said.

There is also a need for shade, as patients are forced to wait in the sun and under nearby trees.

The Ombandja Traditional Authority came to the rescue of the health center by providing building materials worth close to N$28,000 to expand the shade for patients at the hospital.

"The Ombandja Traditional Authority values the health services that the health center renders to our community and our neighboring country. The population is growing year by year, and it is equally observed that the needs of our health center also increase every year. With the observation, the OTA was convinced to extend a helping hand to our health center, to meet our government halfway in the development of this health facility," said Nathanael Ndikwetepo, Senior Traditional Councillor of the Ombandja Traditional Authority.

Nurse Eliakim welcomed the needed gesture.

"Just to express my gratitude to OTA for the job well done for the donation, as you can see from the truck of materials, we really had a need for our patients to be able to sit on the floor under the tree; there are no chairs, and there are no shades. We cannot thank our OTA enough."

He urges the Health Ministry to transform the Okalongo Health Center into a district hospital so patients do not have to continue traveling long distances when referred to Oshakati Intermediate or Oshikuku District hospitals.