The Prime Minister of Namibia, Hage Geingob, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to sustaining the national AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria responses during a meeting with UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé and the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund), Mark Dybul, on 3 November in Windhoek, Namibia.
Prime Minister Geingob said that the government will continue to build on the current gains in order to drastically decrease the impacts of the three epidemics and to put Namibia on the path to ending the AIDS epidemic.
Mr Sidibé noted that Namibia has been one of the success stories in the global AIDS response and a model country with an innovative partnership between government and civil society. He added that addressing the needs of key populations at higher risk and investing in a community-centred HIV response that leaves no one behind will be critical to ending the AIDS epidemic in Namibia.
During the meeting, Dr Dybul said that Namibia’s increased investment in health had been exemplary and a demonstration of country ownership. He assured the government that the Global Fund is committed to supporting the national systems and plans to accelerate their implementation to get results quickly.
In the past three years, Namibia has increased domestic funding for health to more than 14% of its annual budget—it is now close to reaching the 15% target agreed by African governments in the 2001 Abuja Declaration on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Other Related Infectious Diseases. The 2013 national AIDS spending assessment estimates that 64% of the US$ 213 million HIV funding in Namibia comes from public funds, 35% from international donors and 1% from the private sector.
During their joint two-day visit to Namibia, Mr Sidibé and Dr Dybul held discussions with high-level political leaders, including Namibian Minister of Health and Social Services Richard Kamwi, representatives of civil society, partners and health workers.
“Namibia’s classification as a high–middle-income country is helping us to be self-reliant on our national health and development priorities. AIDS will continue to be the priority for the government. We cannot afford to relent as we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We have to reach to the finishing line.”
Hage Geingob, Prime Minister of Namibia
“The economic and social transformation in Africa requires us to redefine the civil society movement. We must put in place new watchdog mechanisms, not only for health service delivery but also for the realization of social and economic equity. This will help us foster public accountability and measure real progress.”
Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director
“The world has moved from the old development assistance model to a new era of international relations and cooperation, an era where governments are in the driver’s seat of development and partners are servants of countries and their people.”
Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
