The Minister of Health and Social Services, Hon. Dr. Kalumbi Shangula on 21 February launched the 6^th round of National Health Accounts.   The report reflects results of health account for two consecutive years, 2015/16 and 2016/17.  Namibia used a combined methodology of Health Accounts and the National AIDS Spending Assessment (NASA) estimations.  Dr Shangula said that ‘the Namibian government continues to prioritize health provision to the people.’ He referred to the fact that the government was the largest contributor to health spending amounting to 56% in 2015/16 and 63% in 2016/17.  He expressed concerned over the declining external financial support for reproductive health and non-communicable diseases which call for more government funding in these areas.  The Report provides evidence for planning, resource allocation and efficient and effective use of limited resources.

Echoing the Minister’s sentiments for evidence based planning, the WHO Representative, Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses , said that issues and recommendations raised in the report need to be reflected in policies and plans of government.  ‘With more than half of the health spending in Namibia provided by government, it demonstrates a strong commitment to health.  However, going forward, it is important to understand whether this health spending is across the required scope of health services, is efficient and equitable across the population’, Dr Sagoe-Moses cautioned.  He also expressed concern over the fact that government expenditure leans more towards curative services and less on preventative care at less than 10% of the budget. 

Speaking at the same occasion, USAID Representatives, Dr. Randy Kolstad, commended the Namibian government for its dedication to the health of all Namibians. He said  that the Namibian expenditure in  both years is equivalent to 13.5% of overall government expenditure, closely meeting the 15% Abuja Declaration target for health financing.     However as a result of the current economic climate, a decrease in funding raises concerns ‘as the need for health services does not go down because there is an economic downturn’.   He further acknowledged that the Country is at the verge of epidemic control.  ‘With donors financing amounting to 36% of the HIV response, we must plan carefully to have a sustainable approach to the HIV epidemic.’

Health financing is essential to ensuring universal health coverage and the resource tracking exercise provides sound estimates to past spending for future planning and budgeting.  The exercise was supported by a number of stakeholders including UNAIDS, USAID and the World Health Organization.