‘Namibia lacks capacity to produce malaria drugs’

Namibia currently lacks the capacity to manufacture malaria treatment medication due to high costs and stringent international regulatory requirements.

This was confirmed by Fabupharm managing director Fanie Badenhorst, who said the pharmaceutical manufacturer discontinued its malaria drug production several years ago due to ineffectiveness and financial limitations.

“The chloroquine product that we used to manufacture is an old molecule which malaria parasites have become resistant to, so it was no longer effective. That is why it was discontinued,” he said in an interview yesterday.

“At this stage, we do not have any malaria products that we manufacture or import.”

According to Badenhorst, malaria treatments must meet World Health Organisation (WHO) pre-qualification standards, a costly and complex process that Namibia is currently unable to finance.

“To register and manufacture WHO-approved malaria drugs requires extensive data, clinical trials and certification. It is very expensive, and at this stage, we simply cannot afford it,” he said.

PROFITEERING

The disclosure comes amid growing public scrutiny over how Namibia sources its malaria medication during a national outbreak, with over 76 195 confirmed cases and 132 deaths reported between December 2024 and 20 May 2025.

Affirmative Repositioning (AR) leader and parliamentarian Job Amupanda has accused Ministry of Health and Social Services officials and middlemen of profiteering from government medical procurements.

In a social media post on Sunday, Amupanda claimed his investigation team, Eagle 25, intercepted a consignment of malaria tablets last week that entered Namibia through the Ngoma border post.

He alleged that the government paid N$1 500 per pack of 100 tablets, totalling N$450 000 for 300 packs, while the supplier’s invoice showed a price of only N$580 per pack.

“The middlemen only paid N$175 000 in total, and they made a clean N$275 000 from this single product,” Amupanda said, and added that even if transportation costs were factored in at N$50 000, the middlemen would still have pocketed N$225 000.

He further claimed the specific tablets procured were no longer recommended due to adverse side effects, but were still being bought using public funds.

“This is how rallies of the corrupt are funded. This is how pockets are lubricated,” he wrote.

EMERGENCY MEASURES

Health ministry spokesperson Walters Kamaya in a statement denied allegations of corruption over the emergency procurement of malaria treatment tablets.

He said the purchase was made under emergency provisions of the Public Procurement Act to prevent treatment interruptions and potential loss of life.

“While Artemether-Lumefantrine remains the first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria, quinine remains a vital second-line treatment, particularly for pregnant women and patients who react negatively to first-line drugs,” the ministry said.

The ministry further stated that the selected supplier, West Pharmaceuticals, was able to deliver the urgently-needed drugs within a week, which was a critical factor during the escalating outbreak.

In the statement, Kamaya said direct procurement from manufacturers was not viable, as their minimum order requirement was 60 000 packs, far more than the ministry’s emergency request of 300 packs.

“No payment has been made to the supplier and the consignment has been quarantined while import documentation is verified in collaboration with the Namibia Revenue Agency. A comprehensive internal review is underway,” the ministry spokesperson said.

Kamaya further noted that medicine prices are often affected by global supply and demand, and that during disease outbreaks prices for life-saving drugs tend to increase.

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