Nuusita Ashipala
Eloolo-Minister of Health and Social Services Dr Bernard Haufiku has urged the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development to tighten the liquor law, saying alcohol continues to ruin many lives.
Haufiku says 80 percent of patients admitted at the Mental Health Clinic at Oshakati Intermediate Hospital are related to alcohol and drug abuse, with the majority of those admitted being males, with an average age of 25 years.
Haufiku made the revelations at the inauguration of Eloolo Clinic in Oshana Region, which was constructed at a cost of N$12 million and has a clinic catchment population of 5,000.
The health minister was equally concerned about the escalating number of young girls frequenting the maternity wards. Haufiku, with reference to Onandjokwe Lutheran Hospital and Engela District, said amongst those frequenting the hospitals were girls between the ages of 16 and 18.
He thus appealed to the public at large to take responsibility for their actions, saying: “If we do not have that personal responsibility there is no way we can solve the problems of health. If we do not implement simple preventive measures then we would still be devilled with these kinds of problems.”
Dr Haufiku also pleaded with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology and the Health Professional Council to ban misleading adverts for medical services. He said the media is used to spread lies while at the same time robbing the community of its money.
“These people are spreading lies, feeding you lies while taking your money,” he said.
Governor of Oshana Region Clemens Kashuupulwa said the Eloolo Clinic is the tenth clinic to be constructed in the region and appealed to the government to make budgetary provision for the construction of additional clinics to complement the work of other health centres in the region.