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Bumping is back. Health ministry gets support from US Embassy

Bumping is back. Health ministry gets support from US Embassy

The Ministry of Health and Social Services took charge on Thursday of three ambulances, a number of hospital bed and an assortment of medical equipment, courtesy of the US Embassy in Windhoek, to bolster the ability of the local health sector to respond to medical emergencies.

The Executive Director in the health ministry, Ben Nangombe received the contribution from the US Ambassador, HE Lisa Johnson, at a brief ceremony in Windhoek.

“This is a donation from the United States Department of Defence’s humanitarian assistance programme,” said Ambassador Johnson at the hand-over. In addition to the three ambulances, the ministry received 25 hospital beds, nine stretchers, and other supplies for isolation units. In total, the donation is valued at over N$2 million.

“The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, is working side-by-side with the Namibian government on its COVID-19 response,” said Dr Eric Dziuban, director of the CDC office in Namibia. “We have six members of our CDC team working full-time on the COVID-19 response led by the Ministry of Health,” he said adding that the current focus is on containment to prevent any local transmission.

The US Government has contributed more than US$1 billion over a 20-year period to support healthcare in Namibia.


Caption: US Ambassador, HE Lisa Johnson (right) meet elbow to elbow with the Executive Director in the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Mr Ben Namgombe (left).


 

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