Paheja Siririka
WINDHOEK - The U.S. Department of State’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Matthew Harrington, visited Namibia last week with engagements covering the broad U.S.-Namibia partnership.
Harrington, who served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Namibia from 2008-2010, delivered an address at the Ministers’ of Health Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) Meeting on a Sustainable HIV Response for Epidemic Control.
“I applaud Namibia’s success in bringing the HIV epidemic from crisis to control, thanks to the partnership between the U.S,” stated Harrington. He said that the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar) has invested more than the US $75 billion in sub-Saharan Africa, which has helped save more than 17 million lives and prevented millions of HIV infections.
Harrington was given a tour of the Katutura Health Centre where he saw first-hand Namibia’s success in combatting HIV/AIDS, whereby Namibia is expanding its global leadership in fighting HIV by implementing index partner and recency testing.
“This approach will allow Namibia to prevent the spread of HIV by strategically focusing on recent HIV infections and people who are most at risk of a new infection,” he said.
“The U.S. model of partnership offers sustainable, debt-free avenues for African growth, prosperity and human capital development,” said Harrington.
He emphasised that U.S. companies are attracted to countries known for their ease of doing business and their consistent policy and regulatory environments.
Harrington took the opportunity to express enthusiasm about the opportunities for further growth in trade and investment between the United States and Namibia.
Harrington met with representatives of American businesses present in Namibia and had lunch with alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs such as the Mandela Washington Fellowship, the Fulbright Scholarship, and the International Visitor Leadership Program.
Harrington’s meetings with the Namibian government included the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, the minister of health and social services and the minister of environment and tourism.
He also had an opportunity to visit the Walvis Bay port expansion project to better understand Namibia’s positioning to be a logistics hub and transport corridor.
He furthermore visited Swakopmund’s Cosdef Arts and Crafts Centre constructed by the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and also met with Peace Corps volunteers who are dedicating two years of their lives to community development all around Namibia.