The Namibia Planned Parenthood Association clinic in Windhoek is decorated with colourful murals, its walls brightly painted with red ribbons. It has the feel of a welcoming classroom or youth club rather than a medical site. And that’s the idea, because this facility offers sexual and reproductive health services, including HIV testing and counselling, to adolescents and young people aged up to 25 years old.  

The site is staffed by young peer-to-peer counsellors, such as 20-year-old Claudia Ndinundjene, who offers a friendly ear to the clinic’s users and advises them on what to expect from the testing process. She can also give them information on how to protect themselves from unintended pregnancy and HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

“It’s important for young people to be advised by other young people,” says Ms Ndinunjene, “People need to be helped in a non-judgemental atmosphere that meets their needs—they shouldn’t be asked a lot of questions, but just get the help they need, and quickly.”

The clinic carries out about 200 rapid HIV tests a week. The results are back within 15 minutes. People who test negative are given condoms and advice on how to stay HIV-free. People who test positive are immediately referred to a neighbouring clinic to get access to antiretroviral medicine, which can keep them healthy.

One of the biggest challenges is to get young people to adhere to treatment, especially when long queues translate into long waits at other clinics, which may also be less oriented to the specific needs of young people. That’s why the Executive Director of the clinic, Bravo Linosi, would like to expand services.

“We would like to be able to offer treatment services to the young people who come here as well as HIV testing and counselling,” says Mr Linosi. “This would make a huge difference to young people’s lives, helping them remain healthy by staying on treatment and also helping Namibia to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.”     

The commodities used at the clinic are provided by the government, while funding and other support comes from a range of partners, including UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. 

The clinic offers Wi-Fi, so that young people can carry on with their homework or simply stay in touch with their friends online while at the clinic. Mr Linosi has plans for pool nights or TV soccer nights to attract more young men to the clinic. In this way, he hopes that HIV testing can become a more routine part of young people’s lives, particularly young men, whose service uptake is currently poor.

The clinic still sees some older adults who have turned 25 but don’t want to go anywhere else, having been visiting the site for several years.

“People feel happy here and they keep coming back to the clinic because they feel safe—that’s why they don’t want to go anywhere else,” says Nelapewa Baumuller, a senior nurse at the clinic.