Nearly 70% of Namibians have gone without medical care at least once in the past year, highlighting a significant challenge in the country’s healthcare system, a recent Afrobarometer survey found.
The alarming Afrobarometer statistic includes 20% of respondents who say they lacked medical attention “many times” or “always”.
The survey, conducted in March 2024, highlights widespread dissatisfaction with the state of public healthcare services.
Among the 60% of respondents who had contact with a public clinic or hospital in the last 12 months, the majority reported facing numerous issues.
“Among respondents who had contact with a public health care facility, majorities say they encountered long waiting times (91%), a lack of medicines or supplies (84%),” said the survey.
Further, it was reported that 50% noted that cost was also a significant barrier, with half of the respondents stating that high expenses prevented them from receiving the care they needed.
Furthermore, 80% of those surveyed participants experienced an absence of medical personnel, and 79% described the facilities as poor.
These findings reflect growing concerns over access to affordable healthcare, as 59% of Namibians rated the government’s performance on improving basic health services as “fairly badly” or “very badly”.
Despite these challenges, the Ministry of Health and Social Services maintains a relatively strong level of trust among the public.
Two-thirds (66%) of Namibians said they trust the ministry “somewhat” or “a lot.”
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life.
The Afrobarometer team in Namibia, led by Survey Warehouse, interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,200 adult Namibians in March 2024.
A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
