Onandjokwe Intermediate Hospital has upgraded its infrastructure and equipment, thanks to the government, its development partner in health.
Onandjokwe Intermediate Hospital is one of the oldest hospitals, founded by Finnish missionary and medical doctor Selma Rainio in 1908.
Most of its buildings are constructed with mud, and 90% of them need total renovation.
The hospital was under the management of the Evangelical Lutheran Church until 2015, after which it was handed over to the government and upgraded to an intermediate hospital.
"We are talking about 111 years of excellent community services today. If you are looking for experience in terms of healthcare service delivery, you don't have to look anywhere but at Onandjokwe," said Dr. Saad Rwehumbiza, acting medical superintendent at the hospital.
During the 2020–2022 financial year, male and female surgical wards were completed at a cost of N$1.4 million each.
The Pupkewitz Foundation funded the head of the department office at a cost of N$2.7 million, which is also complete.
Other completed wards include the TB ward, which cost N$1.2 million, the pediatric ward, which cost N$4.4 million, and the mothers' lodge, which cost N$4.5 million.
"We recently received what we call the PSA plant; this is the oxygen-generating plant. We all know that when we came across COVID-19, there were a lot of lessons to learn because the demand for oxygen was abnormal. So the PSA plant we are talking about is also looking at the future of Onandjokwe as the possible largest health service provider in the north."
The hospital beds have also increased to 560, with the staff establishment moving from below 70% to 76%.
"The hospital is currently offering specialized services in about ten domains: we have emergency services, general services, and specialized services in critical care, orthopaedics, and traumatology; then we have paediatrics, neonatology, gynaecology, and dental surgery; and we recently added ophthalmology, where we are dealing with eyes and doing cataract surgery; this is also new; it just came in about two to three months ago."
Onandjokwe Hospital receives referrals from six district hospitals, namely Tsumeb, Omuthiya, Eenhana, Okongo, Engela, and Grootfontein, as well as self-referrals from Opuwo.