Policies like NHI need community-based approach: Namibian health minister

For African leaders to deliver on universal health coverage policies they must have strong, efficient and equitable health systems that are rooted in communities they serve.

This is according to Namibian health minister Kalumbi Shangula, who gave a keynote speech at the three-day Africa Health Indaba where health experts, and scientific and political personalities, gathered in Midrand, Gauteng.

“A large percentage of the African population is too poor to afford transport to health facilities or to pay for health services. There is a skewed resource allocation for health in favour of urban centres. More resources are allocated to tertiary healthcare than to primary healthcare,” said Shangula.

“In many African countries, the burden of disease is shifting faster to the profile seen in developed countries, where noncommunicable diseases are the main cause of death.”

The healthcare sector can be considered a major growth opportunity due to the tremendous health challenges that the continent faces and the serious deficiencies that still exist in its healthcare, he said.

“Africa lags behind other regions of the world on almost all healthcare indicators. Epidemics, notably the Aids epidemic that affects Africa more than other regions, have played a large part in bringing about this situation.

“Policy factors, like slow response to the Aids epidemic, have played a major role too. Poverty is also keeping Africa unhealthy,” he said.

He made reference to the pre-colonial era when Africa experienced bouts of endemic diseases and occasional outbreaks.

“Among the noted serious and deadly tropical diseases are sleeping sickness caused by tsetse fly and the more dangerous form of malaria, caused by plasmodium falciparum. The management of the diseases was done using herbal medicines. The African healing culture often involved clinical and spiritual interventions.

“In the early colonial period, missionaries provided the bulk of African healthcare in hospitals and dispensaries. The Christian missionary societies provided modern healthcare in Africa, long before the colonial administrations.

“They built and ran a number of hospitals and dispensaries. Christian symbolism was introduced in missionary medical activities, for example, the blessing of the sick, sign of the cross, prayers and social support. Missionary healthcare was also used to inculcate morality within the household.”

Earlier, at the same conference, Limpopo health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba criticised the tendency of African political leaders to access healthcare internationally, leaving collapsing systems they could have fixed in their own countries.

“When you get to those hospitals it is five-star service, but who is paying for that? The very same poor and vulnerable we have left behind. No African leader must consult in another country. They must fix their own system. Die in your own country and hospitals,” she said to a cheering audience.

TimesLIVE