Republic Of Namibia
Ministry Of Health And Social Services
Caprivi Region Annual Report 2000 Executive Summary and Photos
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This is the Executive Summary from the Caprivi Region's Annual
Report for the year 2000. The entire report can be downloaded from the link below. Photos depict some facilities
and activities in the Caprivi Region.
Caprivi Region, situated in the North Eastern Namibia
and in a Malaria endemic area, services a population of about 92640. The approximate
area in square kilometres is 17500 Sq. Km. The population of this region is
rather scattered in the way of distribution and this may, in a way bring about
a number of hurdles in the provision of health care as well as the result
expected. However, the region has made appreciable achievements:
The revised HIS2K system has been introduced, the effects of this are already
evident in that there is an increase in the number of cases for all conditions
showing that more data is now being captured compared to before.
In the area of HIV and AIDS campaign there has been a
positive response from the public in that awareness has increased and necessary
precautions are being put in place to limit the spread of this scourge. In
spite of this, HIV /AIDS is still taking its toll with the resultant effects of
single and double orphans, robbing the nation of professionals in various
fields and also disrupting and breaking families and with the result being felt
on one of the most vulnerable groups, the children.
The data for the current Annual Report covers the
period from January 2000 to December 2000. With the introduction of the HIS
2000 the data for January, February and March 2001 could not be compiled with
the result that national level instructed that the same data for these three
months included in last year’s report be included in the current report. This
makes comparison of data of the last report with the current report difficult.
With the above statement taken into account
it would appear that the PHC has not done very well during the year under
revier>w with Health facility deliveries decreasing from 58% to46.6%. The
outreach coverage rate was wrongly calculated in the last report. The number of
outreach points was 32 instead of 79 as stated in the re various faculties
involved in this, work tirelessly despite being under staffed to make sure that
the best of service is provided to patients.
An increase in Malaria cases was noticed. There were
36,286 cases in the year 2000 /2001 and 26299 in the year 1999 /2000 for the
age group of 5 and above. In the age group of below 5, there were 16040 cases
in 2000/2001 compared to 11534 in 1999/2000. This reflects probably the
increased reporting due to the new HIS introduced. There was an increase in TB
cases from 340 in 1999/2000 to 496 cases in 2000/2001.
The main constraints encountered in the whole spectrum
of health provision are multifarious. Some are short term encroaching onto long
term and others are recurring to mention but a few. As mentioned above, a
scattered population renders various constraints in effective health provision
e.g. deciding where to place a clinic or health centre, transport to mobilize
resources (both human and financial) in the areas concerned. On the whole,
finance, transport, lack of adequately trained staff in quality as well as in
quantity, embraces every aspect discussed. However, peculiar to Caprivi Region
are floods and lately political instability, which occurred in August 1999. The
August 1999 event threw many a health program off balance and in disarray, but
this has now stabilized and all health programs are back on track.
Of note is the visit by head office managers on the
Permanent Committee on Patient Care and Infrastructure Management to the
region. The visit brought high morale to all health workers and some
longstanding problems were solved on the spot. The Regional Director also paid
a support supervisory visit with his team.
Another highlight of the period under review is the
Eye Camp that was carried out at Katima Mulilo Hospital. A total of 250
patients were seen and 117 operations were performed.
The sanitation program stagnated somewhat in the
Caprivi Region mainly due to administrative problems. This will be one of our
priority areas this financial year. The main recommendations required to
achieve the utmost health care provision in Caprivi are to deliberately design
programs with input from health providers and recipients alike so that there
can be harmony in the implementation of the designed programs. These programs should
constitute practical and achievable targets.
There are no new industries
with detrimental effects on health, but suffice to say that as the population
of the region has continued to grow, there is more pressure in terms of
providing good health and social welfare for the people and hence the need to
expand health facilities in the district. The income per family remains rather
low with most families just making it to the subsequent month. Tourism in the
district has drastically dwindled due to the insecurity along the trans Caprivi
Highway. Most of the lodges are not as fully booked as they used to be before.
The entire (50+) page document is available to download in RTF (converts to MS Word)
or PDF Format:
RTF Format PDF - Requires Acrobat Reader
These photos were taken by Caprivi Regional Pharmacist, Daniel Bollbach:
The new Caprivi Region Regional Management Team (RMT) building, Katima Mulilo
The Caprivi Region Primary Health Care (PHC) building in the compound
of the Katima Mulilo Hospital
The Katima Mulilo District Hospital patient entrance
The Lusese Clinic, Caprivi Region, Namibia
The Kabbe Clinic, Caprivi Region, Namibia
Visiting Doctors at the Impalila Clinic, Caprivi Region, Namibia
Caprivi Region, Namibia. Mothers in five pilot clinic areas are undergoing training
in growth monitoring for under-5 year-olds in a project supported by HSSSP, a health
management project supported by the Finnish government
Caprivi Region, Namibia. Graduates of the growth monitoring programme receive
t-shirts and equipment bags from regional officials at their passing out ceremony
