Namibia is expected to start providing affordable health services to everyone in the country under the Universal Health Care (UHC) plan next year, the Ministry of Health has said.
This comes as the country is striving to re-envisaging the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of health service delivery in a way which meets the needs and rights of all and especially key, marginalised and vulnerable populations.
Ministry of Health Primary Health Care Director, Naemi Shoopala, said the government is envisioning a situation where patients are not forced to fork out thousands of dollars in order to secure certain health services.
“During Covid-19 we saw some patients paying as much as N$20 000 in order to secure an Oxygen concentrator, so these are the essential things we wish to address and see to it that they are accessible to the public without draining them financially,” she said.
Shoopala also raised concern about ambulance costs in the country, which she said were out of reach for many people.
“Costs related to ambulance services should also be looked into, as such fees leave families to end up loading injured persons onto a non-designated vehicle because they can’t afford it,” she said adding that, although Namibia is ranked 60% to 79% for having access to essential services, “more improvements still needs to be done,” added Shoopala.
Ministry Health Representative, Jeremia Nghipundjwa, weighed in saying the financial implications of the long-awaited inclusive health system are yet to be determined.
“Technical teams are still rounding up situational analysis. The Health ministry is one of those institutions that is receiving a bigger chunk of the national budget, therefore as we implement, we shall begin with essential health provision. This means we shall begin with those deemed important and inaccessible, so that they can easily be accessed by the desired patients of society. The situational analysis will deal with the envisaged challenges of UHC, such as how we can improve health services; also help us address questions whether what we have is adequate to satisfy the needs of everyone,” explained Nghipundjwa
“Reducing long distance nearest health care facilities is another aim UHC is looking to address.”
Namibia currently has 1150 outreach points, 27 primary clinics, 44 health centres, 30 district hospital and only five referral hospitals, as per the ministerial statistics
According to Ministry of Health Executive director Ben Nangombe, “we must do everything we can to maximize the investments made to make quality healthcare accessible and affordable to all, without people suffering financial hardships.”
He noted that absolving the financial burden is cardinal to improving the wellbeing of the population, hence he called for a multi-sectoral approach.
“The health status of the population is influenced by many factors outside the health sector, which is referred to as social determinants of health. These include aspects such as the level of poverty, food security, unemployment. level of education and working conditions of individuals,” he said.
