KEETMANSHOOP – The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Richard Kamwi, is confident that Namibia can completely eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission in future.
Kamwi, who addressed the Keetmanshoop community together with medical staff in the town last Friday morning, expressed these sentiments during his keynote address at the official inauguration of the Daan Viljoen clinic that was built at a cost of N$10 million.
“I want to see the elimination of mother-to-child transmission. Those women who are HIV positive and still want to give birth, why not! Let them give birth and let us save lives,” said the health minister.
He also urged the Chief Medical Officer of the //Karas Region, Dr Job Ndile, and his team to ensure caesareans are carried out with great care and that nutritional assessments are done. “If there is drought it should be no excuse for little ones to die,” advised the health minister.
Just last week Namibia received international praise for her significant improvement in the fight against HIV/AIDS particularly in respect of preventing mother-to-child transmission.
Kamwi, however, warned medical staff not to rest on their laurels, but to improve on their achievements. “We should not run out of ARVs, we must remain on a 90% response rate and continue to respond promptly,” he instructed medical staff.
He also mentioned that the Keetmanshoop hospital would be upgraded to become a regional referral hospital for the greater //Karas Region, a move that would, as he argued, ensure the reduction of death related causes in the region. He also informed the community that once the upgrade is completed more attention would be given to family planning services and counselling especially the counselling of HIV positive people.
Kamwi further commended the //Karas medical personnel for their diligence, hard work and commitment. “I am proud of my staff in the south. When you have a team that makes you smile, who responds to directives any leader would be proud. If you look at my track record even if you ask my parents you will see that I belong to the cum laudes and want the team that I work with to be the people who want people to be well. I want to tell the public I am proud of you,” he beamed while reading an SMS in a local daily newspaper that praised the staff at the newly-launched Daan Viljoen clinic.
“We need these types of comments. If nurses are working in a conducive environment attending to patients one can see an improvement – that makes a difference,” he explained.
Kamwi also mentioned that a state-of-the art health centre is currently being constructed at Bethanie, noting that he is happy with the progress of the project despite it being two months behind schedule.
By Jemima Beukes