Africa-Press – Namibia. Omuthiya District Hospital has reportedly been without water for a week.
Oshikoto regional health director Joshua Nghipangelwa says the water problem at the hospital had been reported to the town council and the water supply has been restored.
He says low water pressure is the cause of the hospital’s water problem.
“Generally, the water pressure in the whole of Omuthiya is just very low. Sometimes not only at the hospital but even in the entire town. Water is just slow,” Nghipangelwa says.
A source at the hospital said the health facility went without water for a week.
“It is very questionable for a bigger hospital like that one to not have water that is running throughout. What if there is an emergency that requires one to take emergency medication? The town council must do something about this,” said the source.
“It is very unhygienic even. Toilets need to be cleaned frequently and people who are in labour rooms need water,” the source added.
Nghipangelwa says the hospital has tanks in which water is stored in case of emergency.
“We are planning to install more water tanks in order to tackle this issue and avoid situations such as this in the future,” he says.
Omuthiya mayor Johannes Ndeutepo said the town is experiencing difficulties with water pressure.
“We used to provide water to the hospital if they are experiencing water shortages. Last year we supplied water to the hospital when they told us, but now we did not receive any complaint from the hospital,” Ndeutepo said.
He added that the council is in the process of developing its own water source.
“We are looking at underground water and desalination in order to tackle this issue of water. We are just engaging our stakeholders, NamWater and the ministry of agriculture,” he said.
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