Twinning project supports health
Namibian, German partners take hands
Since 2020, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German Public Health Institute, have been collaborating through a twinning project.Through this partnership, an emergency support project was initiated during the largest Covid-19 wave (Delta variant) in Namibia, when a sharp increase in hospitalizations of Covid-19 patients and deaths occurred (July 2021).
This project was a close collaboration between the health ministry, the RKI, the University of Namibia (UNAM) and the Research Centre Borstel (RCB). It focused on:
• Providing additional SARS-CoV-2 testing capacities and supporting genomic sequencing for the identification of circulating variants of concern;
• Providing ventilation therapy equipment and consumables;
• Supporting and improving clinical management of severely-ill Covid-19 patients through training; and
• Conducting a survey to better understand the hesitancy to get vaccinated with Covid-19 vaccine.
Collaboration
Last week, this collaboration was celebrated and the nation was updated about the collaboration during the pandemic as well as future activities of the Namibia-RKI Twinning Project.
The closing ceremony was officiated by Esther Muinjangue (Deputy Minister of MoHSS), Ben Nangombe (ED MoHSS), Clarissa Judmann (German embassy) and virtually by Martin Andjaba (Namibian ambassador to Germany).
“The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us that no country is safe until all countries are safe. Therefore, international collaboration is crucial to overcome this pandemic and be prepared for future epidemics and pandemics,” Nangombe said.
“A friend in need is a friend indeed! The Germans proved their friendship and partnership during these difficult times caused by Covid-19,” Andjaba said, while Judmann shared that “the engagement of the RKI and the RCB during the pandemic proves once more the commitment of Germany to international cooperation, coordination and solidarity as key to an effective global response to Covid-19.”
According to Petronella Masabane, deputy executive director of the MoHSS and Namibian Project Lead, an important lesson learnt from this pandemic is that having a National Public Health Institute would strengthen the epidemic and pandemic response capacities and thus, enhance overall health security in Namibia.
In the same vein, head of RKI’s Information Centre for International Health Protection and German Project Lead, Andreas Jansen, emphasized that “the well-established working relationships with partners in Namibia and Germany through the twinning project enabled this needs-based pandemic response support. We are looking forward to working together with all the partners on the project’s long-term aim of establishing a Namibia Institute of Public Health.”
Capacity building
Emmanuel Nepolo, head of UNAM’s diagnostic laboratory, emphasised that Namibia is well on its way to increasing laboratory capacities that will make it less dependent on other countries, while Stefan Niemann, Head of RCB’s Molecular and Experimental Mycobacteriology Group and Visiting Professor to UNAM said that strengthening local capacity is key and at the core of joint activities.
The MoHSS, RKI and other partners are keen to continue with the Namibia-RKI Twinning Project and plan to submit a joint proposal for the upcoming Global Health Protection Programme Phase II (2023-2025). This proposal was developed jointly and agreed upon amongst the German as well as national and international stakeholders during the recent meeting.