Africa-Press – Namibia. OSHIKOTO regional governor Penda ya Ndakolo said the region is experiencing a high death rate among people diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB).
Ya Ndakolo said this during his state of the region address at Omuthiya on Wednesday.
The governor said the death rate now stood at 11,6%, and an even higher rate of 14% for those diagnosed with both TB and HIV-AIDS.
“However, we are still concerned about the threat of HIV and TB infections in the region,” Ya Ndakolo said.
He said 39 776 people were tested for HIV-AIDS, of which 606 tested positive.
“These diseases are both preventable, while TB is curable if diagnosed early. Let us therefore adhere to health protocols to save lives,” he said.
The region has also recorded a slight reduction of the malnutrition rate, from 9% in the 2020/2021 financial year, to 8% during 2021/2022.
“The Ministry of Health and Social Services continues to engage the community with updates on health education on all communicable and non-communicable diseases,” Ya Ndakolo said.
Oshikoto health director Josua Nghipangelwa said the causes of the high TB death rate and infection are poor health standards.
Nghipangelwa said that the area with a high TB death rate is Tsumeb, which mostly affects the San community and those who live in informal settlements, while districts such as Onandjokwe and Omuthiya are not mostly affected.
“The marginalised communities are the ones that are mostly victims of TB. They are given medications by the outreach nurses but the problem with them is that they move around, making it harder to trace them,” Nghipangelwa said.
He stressed that San communities do not live permanently at one place, they move a lot and forget their medications.
Speaking on safety and security in the region, Ya Ndakolo said there has been some progress made in reducing the levels of serious crimes, as well as speeding up investigations.
“This is a result of intensified crime prevention strategies. However, it is disheartening to note that crimes such as rape, assault, housebreaking, theft, negligent driving and culpable homicide are among the top 10 crimes in the region,” he said.
The high rate of road accidents continues to be a concern in the region.
“Two hundred and seven crashes were recorded, which resulted in 452 persons injured and 49 deceased.”
He said reckless and negligent driving was the number one known cause of accidents cited in the region.
“I implore our drivers to adhere to the rules and regulations of the road,” he said.
The governor said that gender-based violence has increased from 12% the previous year to 20% this year.
“It is noted that the greatest cause of gender-based violence is alcohol abuse. Crimes are a societal problem that require a society-wide response,” he said.
He also urged the public to work with the police to ensure safer communities.
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