Zurretta Zia Maveoro
The Gobabis District Hospital in Omaheke has not had a functioning theatre for major operations in eight years.
Built before independence, the facility is now ever overcrowded, with decades-old equipment and power failures so frequent they disrupt mortuary services.
Dentists at the hospital told the National Council Standing Committee of Health, social welfare and labour Affairs that they are “losing their skills,” reduced to minor restorations and extractions because the clinic is too small and ill-equipped for advanced work.
This grim picture was one of many uncovered by the Committee during a week-long verification visit to public health facilities in the //Karas, Hardap and Omaheke regions.From Keetmanshoop to Epukiro, health workers told the committee of chronic medicine shortages, stalled projects, and unsafe working conditions.
In Keetmanshoop, nurses at the regional hospital pointed to dialysis machines that cannot yet be used because essential chairs will only arrive in October.
Despite the addition of a TB facility and new generators and the hospital, staff warned of glaring gaps including the lack of a mental health ward, acute medicine shortages, and shortage of doctors.The Committee was told that the entire //Karas Region is only served by five doctors.
“We are exhausted,” one doctor admitted. “Patients keep coming and there’s no one else to see them.”
In Noordoewer, a border town of 4,000 people, health workers reported running out of diabetes and epilepsy medication.Patients are forced to go without, while the local pharmacy remains overcrowded and without a qualified pharmacist.Nurses also protested being denied SNT allowances when travelling by ambulance with patients.
“It has been three years,” one said. “We risk our lives on the road and still get nothing.”
In Hardap, the Mariental Hospital ICU is 95 percent complete but still unusable because it lacks oxygen connections, beds, and an anaesthetist.
In Aranos, smoke from a faulty incinerator chimney drifts into nearby homes, creating a public health hazard.
At Epukiro Post 3 clinic in Omaheke, only four nurses carry the workload of a busy rural clinic, with a single outdated delivery bed and a mortuary that often fails after rainstorms or strong winds.
Repairs can take up to four months, leaving staff to rely on telephonic directives from Gobabis.Even their accommodation is crumbling, with leaking toilets and clogged showers caused by hard water.
After hearing the concerns, the committee acknowledged the dedication of staff despite severe constraints.Vice Chairperson Hon. Emma Muteka told workers: “We have heard your frustrations, however we are not here to answer your questions or solve your cries immediately, but we will make sure that we report it to the right people and we will hold them accountable.”
