Walvis hospital gets mobile intensive care unit

Walvis Bay State Hospital now has an intensive care unit (ICU) that can be disassembled, transported and reassembled in a matter of days.

The United States (US) embassy in Namibia yesterday donated the state-of-the-art ICU to the Ministry of Health and Social Services at Walvis Bay State Hospital.

The ICU, which is valued at N$20 million, was funded through the US department of defence’s overseas humanitarian disaster and civic aid programme.

The unit has five beds and is equipped with self-sufficient, dual-generator power, a water-and-sewage system and air conditioning that allows it to operate in the field autonomously.

The unit is also equipped with N$600 000 worth of medicine to ensure services kick off effectively, while doctors and nurses from the ministry have already received training to operate it.

US embassy acting deputy chief of mission Tiffany Miller handed over the unit.

“We understand that while Namibia has the capacity to support its health sector, infrastructure is needed to provide access to healthcare for all, because no one should be without healthcare.

“The mission of the programme is to fund humanitarian assistance activities and enhance the capacity of our partner nations to prepare for and respond to humanitarian crises.

“It provides the ministry with a resource that can be used to support the local population at Walvis Bay and can be disassembled, transported and reassembled in a matter of days to respond to a crisis in the most remote locations.

“By partnering with Namibia to enhance critical baseline medical infrastructure, we enhance the nation’s health security.

“We also enable Namibia to respond to potential future pandemics as well as health emergencies and natural disasters, which positively affects the region as a whole,” she said.

Executive Director of the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Ben Nangombe and Acting Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy, Tiffany Miller, during the handover of the mobile ICU in Walvis Bay.

The donation is the first of four that will be installed across Namibia, including a second five-bed ICU at Otjiwarongo and two field hospitals at Outapi and Katima Mulilo, which include a 30-bed negative pressure isolation facility and United Nations level urgent care clinic.

The donations, totalling over N$128 million, represent the largest department of defence humanitarian assistance donation to Namibia to date.

Executive director of health and social services Ben Nangombe yesterday said the addition of the unit comes at a crucial time, as the health ministry is enhancing capacity at public health facilities nationwide.

He said the critical role of ICU infrastructure, a skilled and capacitated health workforce and the comprehensive training for our future medical professionals would be strengthened.

Nangombe was especially happy that the facility would help the ministry in its efforts to decentralise critical care services, thereby reducing the need for patient referrals from Walvis Bay to Windhoek.

“The long distances present considerable risk. They not only strain our healthcare resources, but also place additional stress on patients and their families.

“The establishment of a fully equipped ICU facility here at Walvis Bay will mitigate these challenges, ensuring that critical care is accessible in a timely manner.

“This mobile ICU represents more than just a medical facility. It symbolises hope, resilience and the power of international cooperation, as well as the power of possibilities.

“As we continue to navigate the complexities of global health challenges, it is partnerships like these that remind us of our shared humanity and our collective responsibility to care for one another,” he said.

Nangombe expressed gratitude to the US for helping the ministry improve healthcare delivery to Namibians.

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