Staff Reporter
NAMIBIA has introduced a standardised medical assessment system for persons with disabilities aimed at reducing lengthy waiting times, unnecessary travel and inconsistent decisions when people apply for disability-related support.
The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MHSS) launched the Namibian Guideline for the Medical Assessment of Functionality and Degree of Disability and the Digital Programme for Medical Assessment for Persons with Disabilities at an event attended by senior government officials and stakeholders.
The new system provides a standardised approach to assessing disability across the country, with the aim of ensuring that eligible Namibians receive fair and consistent assessments regardless of where they live.
The guideline uses the World Health Organization’s Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) and International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision (ICD-11), adapted to the Namibian context, with greater emphasis on a person’s functionality.
The digital programme replaces the previous paper-based processes and is expected to improve the speed of assessments, tracking of applications and management of disability-related data.
Vice President Lucia Witbooi, who officially launched the tools, said the success of the system would depend on how it was implemented after its launch.
“The system that has been launched today should not be measured by today’s launch, but by its implementation thereafter. Its effectiveness, sustainability, and monitoring will be the true test, and it must make a real impact for people with disabilities,” Witbooi said.
Health and Social Services Minister Dr Esperance Luvindao said the digital system was intended to simplify the process for community members rather than create additional bureaucracy.
“When we hear digitisation, sometimes we get scared. But the purpose of that digitisation is speed and efficiency. People want speed and efficiency,” Luvindao said.
She said the system was developed in response to challenges experienced when dealing with public entities, where applicants could be required to resubmit documents or repeat processes.
“This is not supposed to add a bureaucratic layer. This is supposed to simplify things for community members. What we want is a more efficient, effective system in Namibia,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of Gender Equality and Child Welfare Minister Dr Emma Kantema, Willard Nashandi said the new system would help remove barriers to accessing services, particularly for people living in rural areas.
“This will remove barriers, especially for people in rural areas, and bring services closer to them,” Nashandi said.
The introduction of the standardised guideline is also expected to address inconsistencies in disability assessments, where similar cases could previously receive different outcomes depending on the doctor or region in which an assessment was conducted.
Witbooi reiterated that the government would need to ensure the system is properly implemented, funded, monitored and sustained for it to achieve its intended purpose.
“The success of this programme will not be measured by the launch taking place today. It will be measured by what happened after today, by how effectively the system is implemented, funded, monitored, evaluated and sustained, and most importantly, by whether it makes a tangible difference in the lives of persons living with disabilities,” she said.
Photo: Ministry of Health and Social Services-Namibia
