Do not tire of investing in public health - Shangula
Health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula, has called on companies and individuals making contributions to the ministry to not get tired of doing so.
He says it is through such support that public hospitals managed to save lives during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He made the call on Monday during a donation of six ventilators, humidifiers and consumables valued at over N$2 million by Debmarine.
Shangula said many Covid-19 patients were saved in the public health sector after the ministry expanded their bed capacity and repurposed hospital wards to accommodate the increasing number of patients who needed admission.
This, he said, was largely done with the assistance of the private sector.
According to Shangula, even the “usually shunned” Katutura Intermediate Hospital stood out during the pandemic and especially during the third wave of Covid-19, when it, and many other public hospitals, served as beacons of hope and reliable sources of restoration of health and life.
“It is worth investing in the public healthcare sector because the yield on investment is enormous. Imagine how many deaths have been averted because of the donations and support the ministry received during the pandemic. So my plea is that we must not tire in our efforts to improve our healthcare system,” he said.
Debmarine chief executive officer Otto Shikongo said Debmarine is committed to supporting government efforts in combatting the pandemic and will continue to offer support wherever possible.
“In only a few months our nation lost many lives, many of us were personally impacted by the devastating loss of loved ones, friends, colleagues, fellow employees and national leaders. When we donated 30 ventilators almost 12 months ago, many people thought they were too many, but a mere eight months later, we were saying ‘we wish we had ordered many more’, patients were waiting outside hospitals to be accommodated,” Shikongo recalled.
He said it was due to this that the company decided to donate more ventilators, noting: “When it comes to saving lives, rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.”