{"id":63410,"date":"2024-02-22T17:25:37","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T17:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/mps-want-health-to-emulate-kenya"},"modified":"2024-02-22T18:06:08","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T18:06:08","slug":"mps-want-health-to-emulate-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/mps-want-health-to-emulate-kenya","title":{"rendered":"MPs want health to emulate Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>The National Council standing committee on health, social welfare and labour affairs recommended that the health ministry benchmarks and emulates Kenya\u2019s Linda Mama model to enhance the Namibian maternal homes\u2019 concept.<\/p>\n

The Linda Mama concept refers to a maternal healthcare programme in Kenya which aims to provide pregnant women with access to quality healthcare services before, during and after childbirth.<\/p>\n

It targets low-income women, and typically includes services such as antenatal care, delivery services, post-natal care and essential supplies like maternity kits, all aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality rates. This recommendation follows a study visit to the Parliament of the Republic of Kenya, where the committee gained insights into Kenya\u2019s commitment to Universal Health Coverage (UHC).<\/p>\n

UHC, defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a healthcare system aiming to provide all people and communities with access to essential health services without facing financial hardships, is a goal Kenya has been pursuing through various reforms and initiatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe primary objective was to draw comparisons with its operations and best- practices,\u201d said the chairperson of the committee, Linekela Nambondi.<\/p>\n

Other topics of deliberation included child labour, social grants and unemployment, addressing shared challenges and potential solutions in both countries.<\/p>\n

Same difference<\/p>\n

While the MPs are impressed by the Linda Mama concept, the executive director in the ministry of health Ben Nangombe pointed out that public health services in Namibia are also free.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a patient comes to our facilities and is unable to pay for the services, they are not chased away; they receive the services nonetheless,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

These services extend to both antenatal and post-natal care, including the provision of diapers and formula milk.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps what is lacking is the provision of specific items, but in terms of services per se such as medical examinations, provision of pharmaceuticals, or even surgical procedures or counselling, these services are free,\u201d he elaborated. In terms of achieving UHC, Nangombe stated that the country is moving towards that goal, and has achieved 70%-80% of the scoring criteria put in place by the WHO.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that doesn\u2019t mean we are there yet. We are still putting in place mechanisms to achieve universal health coverage. We have engaged different stakeholders, including medical aid funds, the private health sector, academia, the business sector, members of parliament and communities,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Rather than isolating the concept, Nangombe emphasised that UHC should be defined based on how Namibians envision it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why consultative meetings are ongoing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Last year, Cabinet urged the ministry of health to spearhead the development of the UHC framework.<\/p>\n

The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM)\u2019s shadow minister of health Winnie Moongo reiterated Nangombe\u2019s comment on health services being essentially free in the country.<\/p>\n

However, she acknowledged that Kenya is ahead of Namibia in terms of UHC.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the Linda Mama concept has proven effective in Kenya, I am sceptical about its immediate applicability in Namibia ,given the current state of our public health sector,\u201d she observed.<\/p>\n

Moongo said the country faces severe challenges, including infrastructure issues, shortages of medical equipment, and a lack of specialist medical personnel.<\/p>\n

Therefore, implementing the Linda Mama concept would require a well-functioning healthcare system, which the currently lacks, she added. \u201cThe public health sector is grappling with significant challenges such as overwhelmed maternity wards, a shortage of beds, and inadequate delivery rooms, particularly in regions like Khomas, where there are only two state maternity wards,\u201d Moongo said. Last year, the National Assembly\u2019s standing committee on gender equality, social development and family affairs said the public health sector is in crisis state.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is crucial to address the existing issues first. Namibia needs political will, and a committed leadership to fix the dilapidated health infrastructure and combat corruption within the ministry, which hampers progress,\u201d stated Moongo.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. The National Council standing committee on health, social welfare and labour affairs recommended that the health ministry benchmarks and emulates Kenya\u2019s Linda Mama model to enhance the Namibian maternal homes\u2019 concept. The Linda Mama concept refers to a maternal healthcare programme in Kenya which aims to provide pregnant women with access to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":63409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,249],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-63410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-to-homepage","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nMPs want health to emulate Kenya - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The National Council standing committee on health, social welfare and labour affairs recommended that the health ministr ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/mps-want-health-to-emulate-kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MPs want health to emulate Kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The National Council standing committee on health, social welfare and labour affairs recommended that the health ministr ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/mps-want-health-to-emulate-kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-22T17:25:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-22T18:06:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2024\/02\/sm_1708612281.048842.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"333\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/mps-want-health-to-emulate-kenya#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/mps-want-health-to-emulate-kenya\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"MPs want health to emulate Kenya\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-22T17:25:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-22T18:06:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/mps-want-health-to-emulate-kenya\"},\"wordCount\":653,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/mps-want-health-to-emulate-kenya#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2024\/02\/sm_1708612281.048842.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/mps-want-health-to-emulate-kenya#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/mps-want-health-to-emulate-kenya\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/mps-want-health-to-emulate-kenya\",\"name\":\"MPs want health to emulate Kenya - 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