PEPFAR strengthens AIDS response

Earlier this week, the US Ambassador, HE Thomas Daughton and the deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, Hon Juliet Kavetuna welcomed more than 100 new healthcare workers hired through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), at a ceremony in the North.
The new HIV/AIDS workers who will soon be deployed to health facilities in seven districts, Onandjokwe, Omuthiya, Tsumeb, Oshikuku, Andara, Nyangana and Engela, and three sites at Grootfontein.
These doctors, nurses, pharmacists, counsellors and data clerks join a contingent of more than 400 healthcare professionals funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to help fight HIV, especially in rural areas.
“I believe Namibia will achieve an AIDS-free generation thanks to determined and dedicated people like you, but that achievement will come because we work together – hand in hand – Namibians and Americans,” Ambassador Daughton told the new healthcare staff members.
Deputy Minister Kavetuna thanked the US Government for its continued funding, saying “The government and its people are extremely grateful for this support, which has gone a long way in building healthy communities.”
The US Ambassador also handed four brand-new 4×4 vehicles to be used in health districts in Kavango East and at Omuthiya, Onandjokwe and Tsumeb.
The deployment of new health care workers follows the signing of an Acceleration Plan between the United States and Namibia in December 2015, for an additional US$34 million to support the Ministry of Health and Social Services in its fight against HIV/AIDS. PEPFAR contributions since 2004 exceed US$1.1 billion.