The Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) commended Namibia for progress made in the health sector despite challenges faced.
Dr. Jean Kaseya made the remarks during a courtesy visit to President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at the State House.
Dr. Kaseya described Namibia as a "very successful country" despite its quiet nature regarding its achievements.
Speaking on his oversight role spanning 55 member states on the continent, Dr. Kaseya highlighted that he closely monitors the progress of individual nations and can confidently say that positive structural and operational improvements are actively taking root across Africa.
"Let me tell you, in this country, for the first time, public hospitals are having what we call the MRI machine; it means an advanced machine for the diagnosis of some diseases. They are still improving because there is no country in the world saying we don't have challenges, and we also don't have to make our challenges more than what they are. The challenges that we are facing we discuss that will be providing support mostly for the procurement system of commodities. Namibia is the first country to send the African procurement mechanism because we want to build on the continental volume to reduce the price."
Dr. Kaseya is in Namibia for the Southern Africa Regional Ministerial Steering Committee meeting currently underway in Windhoek.
He underscored the importance of the meeting as the continent is battling with the outbreak of Ebola, killing thousands of people.
"This is what we are discussing with all the Minnes of the South African region: to see how to accelerate the preparedness and how to ensure that if one day we can even outbreak, our system is well prepared. I even discussed it with the president, who will support Namibia in expanding the network of laboratories, mostly in regions where we consider the exit point or the entry point of the country. I think we are not just talking; we are acting. Africa has supported Namibia for the longest time to build the capacity, and together with WHO and other partners, we continue to provide support."
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah highlighted the need for implementation of outcomes of high-level gatherings.
"I asked the Director-General of the National Planning Commission, and I said to him, and I hope we read it as I gave it. No, it's true because I said, 'Tell our ministers, our people are not going to measure on the number of conferences we are organising or the number of resolutions, but what we are doing."