Desmarius Hansen
The Namibia Nurses Union (NANU) has challenged health minister Dr Esperance Luvindao to turn her attention to what it describes as ‘deeper failures’ in the public healthcare system, arguing that medicine shortages, staff shortages and deteriorating infrastructure demand greater urgency.
The union’s Secretary-General, Junias Shilunga, was responding to a video showing Luvindao reprimanding a regional health director over a ‘leaking toilet’ at Katjinakatji Clinic during her recent regional visits.
While acknowledging that sanitation is important, Shilunga questioned the minister’s decision to publicly scold a senior health official, saying the ministry should be confronting problems that directly affect vulnerable communities relying on public healthcare.
In the video, Luvindao is seen asking the director how long the toilet has been leaking and why the director hasn’t tended to it.
“So when you were doing tours, what actually did you look at here” the minister asked. “You are laughing, it’s not a joke” she added.
The director responded in the video saying the matter had been raised to her but they have not gotten to fully solve the problem, citing a limited budget allocation.
“As for us, we expect the honourable minister of health to address the critical issues affecting our public healthcare system. While issues of sanitation, particularly dirty toilets in health facilities, are equally important, we do not believe that they justify the honourable minister to scold a health director in public,” Shilunga told Windhoek Observer.
Shilunga identified the shortage of essential medicines as one of the most pressing concerns, accusing the ministry of failing to adequately address what he described as a chronic problem.
He said patients were increasingly forced to look for medicine elsewhere when government hospitals exist, placing additional financial pressure on vulnerable households.
“Our people are crying every day because critical medicines are not available in our public hospitals and clinics, and they are forced to go buy at private pharmacies which sometimes they can not even afford,” Shilunga said.
He also questioned how the ministry intends to address shortages of healthcare workers, particularly following the freezing of vacant positions.
According to Shilunga, nurses and other healthcare professionals are expected to maintain quality healthcare services despite operating with inadequate staff.
“We want to hear how she intends to resolve the critical staff shortages in our public health facilities after freezing the posts,” he said.
The union further raised concerns about ageing healthcare infrastructure, warning that deteriorating facilities are creating increasingly difficult working conditions for healthcare professionals.
Shilunga said some facilities had not been expanded since independence, despite growing populations placing additional pressure on existing infrastructure.
He said the challenges were particularly concerning during hot weather, when healthcare workers were expected to perform their duties under conditions he described as unconducive.
On accountability, Shilunga argued that the ministry needed to move beyond reprimanding individual officials.
“We also want the ministry of health to address the issue of safety and security at public healthcare facilities,” he said.
He alleged that the government continued to lose millions of dollars through missing equipment and other valuable assets, questioning the capacity of outsourced security companies to adequately protect public facilities.
The union called on the government to consider deploying police officers at public healthcare facilities to safeguard state property and protect healthcare workers.
Shilunga maintained that accountability remained essential to improving the management of public health facilities, arguing that a lack of accountability was contributing to the slow pace of progress within the ministry.
The health ministry had not responded at the time of publication.
