Namibia's health minister advocates for innovative healthcare funding

Speaking at the fifth Southern Africa Regional Ministerial Steering Committee Meeting in Windhoek, Luvindao stated that healthcare should be seen as both a social service and a multi-billion-dollar industry capable of generating resources. She suggested that senior government officials using public health facilities could help reallocate resources to improve the state healthcare system. President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, in a statement delivered by National Planning Commission director general Kaira Mbuende, highlighted southern Africa's health security as crucial for sovereignty, resilience, and dignity.

The President called for strengthened domestic health financing, expanded universal health coverage, and accelerated local production of medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and medical devices. Nandi-Ndaitwah noted that the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the risks of over-reliance on external suppliers and stressed the importance of investing in local research, laboratories, clinical trials, data systems, and educational institutions to avoid continued dependence on foreign knowledge and technology.