Niël Terblanché
While Namibia continues to lead in many areas of gender equality, the country’s progress must be complemented by robust, actionable strategies to further improve the lives of all citizens.
While addressing participants at the 7th High-Level Gender Advisory Committee Meeting in Windhoek on Wednesday, Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila hailed Namibia’s impressive progress in gender equality, announcing that the country has closed 80.2 percent of its gender gap.
“According to the 2023 Global Gender Gap Index, this achievement places Namibia first in Sub-Saharan Africa and eighth globally,” she said.
The premier expressed pride in the nation’s achievements in Education, Economic Participation, Political Empowerment, and Health. Notably, Namibia has reached full parity in the Health and Survival and Educational Attainment sub-indexes, reflecting significant progress towards gender equality.
She, however, stressed the need for continued efforts to ensure no Namibian is left behind.
While celebrating these accomplishments, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila also reiterated the need for an inter-sectoral approach that guarantees all Namibians a dignified life.
“Poverty eradication and gender equality go hand-in-hand,” she said.
She called for improved coordination across government sectors to ensure that policies aimed at achieving gender equality and eradicating poverty are implemented effectively.
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila also focused on the Blueprint on Wealth Redistribution and Poverty Eradication, a strategy adopted by the Namibian government to reduce poverty by 2025.
“This framework focuses on strengthening the social protection system, ending hunger, improving access to healthcare and education, and creating employment opportunities for all Namibians, with special attention given to empowering women,” she said.
She added that despite all the progress, gender-based violence (GBV) remains a significant challenge in Namibia.
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila urged leaders to intensify efforts to combat GBV, citing alarming statistics. In 2023, Namibia reported 5,356 cases of GBV, a rise from the 4,628 cases recorded in 2022.
“It is imperative that we address GBV across our homes, schools, and communities,” she said while also calling for renewed efforts to tackle these issues.
The premier also drew attention to the plight of female-headed households, which are disproportionately affected by poverty.
“According to the Namibia Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report of 2021, 43.3 percent of the population lives in multidimensional poverty, with higher incidences recorded among female-headed homes,” she said.
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila urged all stakeholders and participants at the meeting to actively generate plans aimed at developing practical solutions to improve the livelihoods of all Namibians.
