Staff Reporter
THE Ministry of Health and Social Services has recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) for Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Flagship Initiatives, which aim to address the country’s most urgent health challenges. WHO has committed USD 2.8 million for the initiative. The initiative is intended to serve as a catalyst for the implementation of the National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS). It also aims to ensure the availability of adequate funds for preparedness, detection and response efforts through resource mobilisation.
According to the Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, the initiative is designed to help the country, through his ministry in particular, to build capacities in areas of response readiness and coordination, disease surveillance, risk communication, community engagement, operations and logistics support. “The initiatives that Namibia will implement will also further strengthen the global architecture of preparedness and response to health emergencies. The Emergency Preparedness and Response Flagship Initiatives aims to promote health security in Africa, through strengthening member state’s capacity to prepare, to timely detect, and to promptly respond to public health threats and emergencies,” Shangula added.
The minister explained that the initiative builds on existing infrastructure and benefits made in the area of public health emergency management so far. He also revealed that the implementation of activities under the initiative commenced already, particularly in the area of workforce development. This includes the successful training of 50 surge staff between November 2022 and March 2023. “Surge teams have been trained together with Rapid Response Teams (RRT) and the Medical Emergency Teams (EMT) have been established. They are well-trained and stand ready to be deployed and provide high-quality health emergency response within and beyond the borders of the Republic of Namibia,” Shangula explained.
Part of WHO’s support for the flagship initiative includes the donation of eight 4×4 multipurpose field vehicles, of which one is an ambulance. “These vehicles will enable us to access hard-to-reach areas, and facilitate the efficient response through the provision of quality health services,” the minister said.
