Health care in Namibia
Encyclopedia
Namibia
faces a number of challenges providing health care to its citizens. The country has a dual system of public (serving 85% of the population) and private (15%) health care providers. In the financial year 2006/07, Government and private health expenditure combined accounted for 8.3% of the country's Gross Domestic Product
.
Health care facilities in the country are sophisticated but not always affordable to the poorer part of the population. Certain services like dialysis
and organ transplantations are only available from private medical centres, putting them out of reach for the majority of Namibia's citizens. The situation got wide coverage in 2010 when Jackson Kaujeua
, Namibian singer and liberation hero, died from renal failure
after not being able to afford private medical care, and thus not being put on dialysis.
The capital Windhoek
has cardiac theaters at two different hospitals, the Windhoek Central State Hospital and the Roman Catholic Hospital. Both units were opened in 2010 and 2011, respectively, and have been used to perform open-heart surgery
, partly with the assistance of foreign personnel.
epidemic is a tremendous problem in Namibia. Approximately 15% of the adult population infected with HIV, a rate only surpassed by its eastern neighbor, Botswana
. In 2001, there were an estimated 210,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, and the estimated death toll in 2003 was 16,000. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has reduced the number of working class people and increased the number of orphaned children. It falls to the government to provide education, food, shelter and clothing for these orphans.
sufferers with approximately 0.7 cases reported per 1,000 inhabitants. Of particular concern are multi
and extensively drug-resistant
bacteria strains.
problem seems to be compounded by the AIDS epidemic. Research has shown that in Namibia the risk of contracting malaria is 14.5% greater if a person is also infected with HIV. The risk of death from malaria is also raised by approximately 50% with a concurrent HIV
infection.
, Omusati, Oshana, and Oshikoto
).
sufferers in the Kavango and Caprivi Region
, most of them concentrated at Mashare
, east of Rundu
. Until the early 1980s this settlement contained a leprosarium of considerable size for thousands of patients from South-West Africa and its neighbours Angola
and Botswana
.
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
faces a number of challenges providing health care to its citizens. The country has a dual system of public (serving 85% of the population) and private (15%) health care providers. In the financial year 2006/07, Government and private health expenditure combined accounted for 8.3% of the country's Gross Domestic Product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
.
Medical facilities
Namibia has 343 hospitals and clinics, as well as 1,150 smaller service points.Health care facilities in the country are sophisticated but not always affordable to the poorer part of the population. Certain services like dialysis
Dialysis
In medicine, dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is primarily used to provide an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with renal failure...
and organ transplantations are only available from private medical centres, putting them out of reach for the majority of Namibia's citizens. The situation got wide coverage in 2010 when Jackson Kaujeua
Jackson Kaujeua
Jackson Kaujeua was a Namibian musician, composer and gospel singer, and a veteran of the Namibian struggle for independence. He sang in various Namibian languages including Afrikaans and English....
, Namibian singer and liberation hero, died from renal failure
Renal failure
Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...
after not being able to afford private medical care, and thus not being put on dialysis.
The capital Windhoek
Windhoek
Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...
has cardiac theaters at two different hospitals, the Windhoek Central State Hospital and the Roman Catholic Hospital. Both units were opened in 2010 and 2011, respectively, and have been used to perform open-heart surgery
Cardiac surgery
Cardiovascular surgery is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease , correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease from various causes including endocarditis, rheumatic heart...
, partly with the assistance of foreign personnel.
Medical personnel
In 2004, the country had 598 physicians, 0.3 per 1,000 inhabitants, and 6,145 midwives and nurses, 3 per 1,000 inhabitants. This number is significantly larger than in the rest of Africa and slightly exceeds the density recommended by the World Health Organisation. The total numbers however hide the situation that the private health care facilities are luxuriously staffed while there is a shortage in the public sector.HIV/AIDS
The AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
epidemic is a tremendous problem in Namibia. Approximately 15% of the adult population infected with HIV, a rate only surpassed by its eastern neighbor, Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
. In 2001, there were an estimated 210,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, and the estimated death toll in 2003 was 16,000. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has reduced the number of working class people and increased the number of orphaned children. It falls to the government to provide education, food, shelter and clothing for these orphans.
Tuberculosis
Namibia has a high rate of tuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
sufferers with approximately 0.7 cases reported per 1,000 inhabitants. Of particular concern are multi
Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis
Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis is defined as TB that is resistant at least to isoniazid and rifampicin , the two most powerful first-line anti-TB drugs...
and extensively drug-resistant
Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis
Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis is a form of TB caused by bacteria that are resistant to the most effective anti-TB drugs. Some contend that XDR-TB strains have emerged from the mismanagement of multidrug-resistant TB and once created, can spread from one person to another...
bacteria strains.
Malaria
The malariaMalaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
problem seems to be compounded by the AIDS epidemic. Research has shown that in Namibia the risk of contracting malaria is 14.5% greater if a person is also infected with HIV. The risk of death from malaria is also raised by approximately 50% with a concurrent HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
infection.
Illnesses related to alcohol abuse
Due to high prevalence of alcohol abuse, 8% of adult Namibians suffer from related illnesses. Alcohol consumption particularly in the north of the country (the four regions of OhangwenaOhangwena Region
Ohangwena is one of the thirteen regions of Namibia. The northern and western parts of the region are the most densely populated of this essentially subsistence agricultural region in which small scale mahangu cultivation and the keeping of cattle form the predominant activities...
, Omusati, Oshana, and Oshikoto
Oshikoto Region
Oshikoto is one of the thirteen regions of Namibia. The northern part of the region is agricultural, whereas the main economic activities in the southern part are cattle rearing and mining...
).
Leprosy
There is a small group of approximately 60 leprosyLeprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
sufferers in the Kavango and Caprivi Region
Caprivi Region
Caprivi is one of the 13 regions of Namibia. It takes its name from the Caprivi Strip which in turn was named after Leo von Caprivi.-Geography:...
, most of them concentrated at Mashare
Mashare
Mashare is a settlement in the Kavango Region of Namibia, just east of Rundu, the regional capital. It is the district capital of Mashare Constituency....
, east of Rundu
Rundu
Rundu is the capital of the Kavango Region, northern Namibia, on the border with Angola on the banks of the Okavango River about 1000 m above sea level. The place normally receives an annual average rainfall of , although in the 2010/2011 rainy season were measured.Rundu grows rapidly...
. Until the early 1980s this settlement contained a leprosarium of considerable size for thousands of patients from South-West Africa and its neighbours Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
and Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
.