Staff Reporter
THE new maternity facility at Intermediate Hospital Onandjokwe (IHO) is almost complete, with its official opening set for 20 October 2025.
This was confirmed by the Ministry of Health and Social Services’ spokesperson, Walters Kamaya, who announced that the facility will include a 120-bed maternity ward. He revealed that the ward will feature dedicated rooms for the first and second stages of labour, doctors’ on-call rooms, a nurses’ lounge, spacious reception areas, private rooms, gynaecology outpatient consultation rooms, procedure rooms, and a specialised obstetrics and gynaecology theatre located within the same wing.
“The theatre within the maternity wing will significantly decongest the hospital’s main theatre and ensure that women of all ages receive timely, quality care,” Kamaya added.
He further noted that the advanced facility is expected to set a new benchmark for maternity care in Namibia, marking a first of its kind in the country. Minister of Health and Social Services, Esperance Luvindao, highlighted that this development supports the Ministry’s Vision April 2026, which seeks to upgrade public health facilities across the nation.
“Vision April 2026 is not focused on enhancing government health facilities for use by senior government officials. It is focused on enhancing the quality of healthcare facilities for use by the everyday state patient. These patients ought to be our focus every day. They are VIP patients every day. Our focus is on them. If any facility is to be used by state patients, it should be good enough for senior government officials,” Luvindao said.
