Africa-Press – Namibia. HEALTH minister Kalumbi Shangula has commended the Pharmacist Care Association of Namibia (PCAN) for taking a proactive role in supporting the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda.
Shangula made these remarks on Thursday, at the launch of the ‘Namibia Health Exhibition’, which is slated for September.
“As you prepare for the 2023 health exhibition to promote well-being for all and foster healthcare innovation, we trust that you will take the context that I have just expounded on into consideration and see in what ways and means this can support the UHC,” he said.
In the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, UHC ensures financial risk protection, access to quality essential healthcare services and access to safe, effective quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all, the minister said.
Namibia is committed to attaining UHC – its index shows that there was an improvement from 38 in 2000 to 62 in 2020. The long-term objective of this indicator is 100, Shangula said.
Indications also show that Namibia’s average per capita health expenditure is relatively high, but the health outcomes are poorer than many other countries, with much lower per capita health expenditure, he said.
“The implementation of a national universal policy framework is in full swing. Various technical working groups, including one on medicines and clinical supplies, are carrying out different activities.
“I urge the PCAN and other partners to join these engagement groups and be part of the shaping journey towards UHC. As we navigate the challenges of the healthcare sector, it is important that we work together with a shared vision of a healthier and more equitable society,” he said.
President and co-founder of the PCAN Grace Nakalondo said the exhibition will create a platform for policymakers, medical practitioners, and healthcare workers to share modern medical innovations to improve healthcare, to prevent diseases and seek medical solutions.
The exhibition will also provide an opportunity to highlight the important work done within the private sector to improve public health, from research and development of new treatments and technologies to the provision of essential health services and products.
This will also enable the collaboration between the public and private sectors to identify innovative solutions to healthcare challenges, Nakalondo said.
PCAN was established in 2016 as a charity organisation involved in soup kitchen drives and helping students to register. In 2021, it became a voluntary professional body.
A pharmacists assistant student from the Welwitschia Health Training Centre, Erasmus Awaseb, said he has always wanted to become a pharmacist, and has learnt a lot from the event.
Another pharmacist assistant student, Sharon Simubali, said: “Pharmacists are not all about dispensing medicine, but also about engaging with your patients, taking care of the elders, and checking up on the patients. Sometimes patients are given prescriptions that are underdosed or overdosed and then we adjust and give the correct quantity. Helping others is also giving,” she said.
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