WALVIS BAY – Coastal residents in need of urgent and intensive medical care no longer need to travel 460km to Windhoek to be admitted.
Neither does Erongo region’s facilities have to run out of capacity, after the US government donated a five-bed intensive care unit (ICU) field hospital to the health ministry.
The donation is part of a larger medical infrastructure donation of over N$130 million, to be spread across four regions in Namibia.
Tifanny Miller, the spokesperson for the US embassy in Windhoek, said “This is the largest donation to Namibia since its independence,and signifies the commitment of the American people to help ensure every Namibian has access to medical care.”
Miller, who handed over the donation on Monday, said the five-bed ICU is designed to provide the ministry with the ability to not only serve the local population of Walvis Bay, but also relocate it to other locations in response to a possible medical crisis.
“The system has self-sufficient, dual generator power, water, sewage systems and air-conditioning, allowing it to operate autonomously in the field. It is also stocked with N$600 000 worth of medicine to ensure the ICU is ready for operations,” Miller said.
Receiving the donation, health executive director Ben Nangombe applauded the US government, stating that the state-of-the-art ICU unit comes at a crucial time as the ministry is enhancing capacity at public health facilities nationwide to provide quality healthcare services.
“This ICU unit will not only bolster our response to the current health challenges, but will also serve as a vital resource to address and effectively respond to medical and health emergencies whenever they occur,” he said.