WINDHOEK – Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Esperance Luvindao, has revealed that at least 50 City of Windhoek police officers, 150 national police officers and 75 correctional officers have received training on handling mental health cases. Luvindao said this in Parliament on Wednesday while responding to questions on the 2025 Mental Health Bill that was recently tabled. 

“The Ministry of Health and Social Services has conducted a series of training sessions for the City of Windhoek Police, Namibian Police Force and Correctional officers on basic mental health skills, mental health screening, psychological first aid and managing mental health emergencies, including handling aggressive patients and applying de-escalation techniques,” she said. 

She noted that although the number of trained officers is not yet sufficient, the skills transfer initiative aims to ensure that officers are better equipped to care for inmates with mental health conditions.“It is important to note that the training has commenced in order to ensure that they are well-skilled to take care of inmates who may have such conditions,” she noted.In late October this year, the Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, Lucia Iipumbu, while speaking on the bill in Parliament, also advocated for specialised training for law enforcement and correctional officers as they interact with a significant number of inmates with mental health conditions. 

Iipumbu indicated that out of 4 500 inmates, about 671 have mental health conditions that officers must manage. -Nampa