Staff Reporter<\/p>\n\n\n\n
THE Ministry of Health and Social Services is expected to announce an agreement reached on the employment and placement of medical interns during the first week of October, while Minister Esperance Luvindao has outlined challenges around the absorption of medical professionals, scholarship payments, Motor Vehicle Accident Fund support and COVID-19 surveillance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luvindao was responding to questions in the National Assembly on Thursday, 24 September 2026, during the Fourth Session of the Eighth Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding medical interns and a previous ruling that had not been honoured, Luvindao said an agreement had now been reached following lengthy discussions between the parties involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause an agreement has been reached, an official announcement will be made in the first week of October,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the pace and absorption capacity of medical interns, Luvindao said this was largely determined by the financial resources allocated to the ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said that, over the long term, the absorption of medical professionals must also be informed by the demand for health services in relation to the population being served.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ministry is coordinating with institutions of learning to ensure that student intake is aligned with service demand and to avoid an oversupply of professionals in the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luvindao also pointed to recently gazetted regulations under the Health Professions Council as part of efforts to address supply-and-demand challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She acknowledged the current challenge posed by the limited number of funded and approved vacant posts within the ministry\u2019s establishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll available posts are subject to approved establishment, but also budgetary provisions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result, the ministry is not currently in a position to automatically absorb all unemployed medical officers, dentists and other professionals immediately after they complete their internships, even where there is a need for their services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luvindao said the Public Service Act and accompanying regulations require all funded vacancies to be publicly advertised, after which qualified candidates undergo a competitive recruitment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said the ministry began advertising available positions around May, including positions in various regions and the Khomas Region, with prospective candidates applying and many already undergoing interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ministry, she said, remains committed to exploring long-term solutions and engaging relevant stakeholders, including the executive and Parliament, to address human-resource needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we are able to acknowledge that there is a need, perhaps then we will be able to ensure that more funds are allocated for that particular purpose,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luvindao said the ministry awarded pre-service scholarships to about 53 students for the 2025 academic year in fields including dental therapy, optometry, biomedical engineering, orthotics and prosthetic sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These fields were identified as areas where the country requires additional human resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, only 34 students remained active, as some had deferred their studies to another financial year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said the 34 active students had received payments for accommodation, transport and living allowances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luvindao acknowledged that there had been delays in payments, attributing them to several factors, including delays in submitting proof of registration and required documentation such as bank confirmation details, as well as the lengthy process of creating supplier codes for individual students on the IFMA system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said these issues had since been resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ministry is now reviewing the process to identify shortcomings and improve the administration of future scholarship awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luvindao said scholarships for all active students were eventually paid following delays in October 2025 and that the ministry does not anticipate similar delays in future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said the ministry\u2019s human resource development office had introduced measures to prevent further delays, including ensuring the timely submission of results and proof of registration, expediting the creation of supplier codes, ensuring the timely release of funds and making scholarship selections early enough to allow students and their families to plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luvindao also highlighted the relationship between the Ministry of Health and Social Services and the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA Fund), saying the two institutions had recently signed a memorandum of understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The MVA Fund supports the ministry through medical equipment, rehabilitation services and emergency care for road traffic injury victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Luvindao, the Fund has invested in strengthening Namibia\u2019s public health facilities for nearly two decades, focusing on capacity building, infrastructure development and emergency response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recent investments include the renovation of the emergency unit at the Intermediate Hospital Katutura, medical equipment for the Intermediate Hospital Oshakati and a full-body low-dose X-ray machine for the Katutura hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Fund is also consulting with the ministry on projects including the renovation of theatres and intensive care units at Windhoek Central Hospital and Intermediate Hospital Katutura.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luvindao said the Fund was also in the early stages of establishing a trauma centre in Windhoek to complement existing health facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Land acquisition for the centre had been finalised with the City of Windhoek, with the remaining paperwork expected to be completed during the next financial year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said the Fund had clinical guidelines providing for patient triage and timely transfer to appropriate health facilities according to the severity of injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Patients are treated at the nearest appropriate health facility, taking into consideration the severity of the injury, the location of the accident, proximity to a suitable facility and the availability of appropriate medical personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luvindao said the ministry also considered the \u201cgolden hour\u201d in trauma care, during which certain interventions need to be provided to prevent fatalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, it is not always possible for the nearest state facility to treat all MVA Fund patients because of limitations in clinical expertise, theatre space and intensive care beds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said the ministry was addressing these challenges by sending more medical officers for specialist training, conducting a theatre-time audit and planning for additional intensive care units, particularly in areas with high numbers of motor vehicle accidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where necessary, patients are transferred back to state facilities after critical, life-saving interventions have been completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luvindao said the MVA Fund maintained communication with ministry officials at various centres to facilitate such transfers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luvindao also addressed reports of an alleged COVID-19 outbreak in Walvis Bay, saying there had been no confirmed outbreak in Walvis Bay or elsewhere in the country at the time the question was raised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said that on 19 October 2025, a newspaper reported that two learners had tested positive for COVID-19 and were receiving treatment at Walvis Bay Hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ministry investigated the cases and established that the two learners from Narraville Primary School had been tested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only one learner tested positive for COVID-19, while the other tested positive for influenza A H1N1 and tested negative for COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe situation at that time was fully under control,\u201d Luvindao said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said sporadic COVID-19 infections and increases in cases would continue to occur, adding that COVID-19 had not disappeared following the end of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She also expressed concern about incidents in which actions by officials outside the ministry could cause unnecessary public alarm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the reported cases, an investigation team comprising the district surveillance officer, an infection prevention and control official and an environmental health practitioner visited the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The team provided health education to learners and teachers on hygiene practices and preventing the transmission of COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ministry also advised learners and school personnel who were feeling unwell to seek medical care promptly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luvindao said Namibia had integrated COVID-19 prevention and detection into its existing disease surveillance system at all levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This includes active and event-based surveillance for COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses that could pose a public health threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said testing mechanisms at the national laboratory, including genomic sequencing at the Namibia Institute of Pathology, had also been established to monitor new variants and report cases nationally and to international organisations such as the World Health Organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Namibia has also established and trained rapid response teams to respond to potential disease outbreaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luvindao said healthcare professionals from Walvis Bay Hospital had been deployed to investigate the reported cases and symptoms among the learners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both learners were treated and discharged safely, and no further COVID-19 cases had been reported at the school at that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She urged the public to continue following appropriate health and safety measures, while emphasising that COVID-19 infections continue to occur even though the disease no longer constitutes a public health emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photo: Parliament of the Republic of Namibia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Staff Reporter THE Ministry of Health and Social Services is expected to announce an agreement reached on the employment and placement of medical interns during the first week of October, while Minister Esperance Luvindao has outlined challenges around the absorption of medical professionals, scholarship payments, Motor Vehicle Accident Fund support and COVID-19 surveillance. Luvindao was …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":401395,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-401394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n