The Ministry of Health and Social Services on Monday received two fully equipped ambulances from the Namport Social Investment Fund (NSIF), with one allocated to the Kalkfeld community in the Otjozondjupa region and the other to be deployed to an area of greatest need.
Health minister Esperance Luvindao says the donation will strengthen the country’s emergency medical services, particularly in remote communities where patients often face long waits for ambulances.
“Namibia’s unique geography is one of our greatest challenges in healthcare delivery due to the distances within and across the 14 regions of our country.
“When a mother goes into obstructed labour in a remote settlement, or a father suffers a partial stroke 60 kilometres from the nearest hospital, the distance between them and the doctor is not just a measurement of road, it is the measurement of their survival,“ she adds.
She says distance only becomes an insurmountable barrier when we lack the mobile infrastructure to overcome it.
Luvindao says the ministry procured and distributed 36 fully equipped ambulances during the 2025/26 financial year and plans to procure another 30 during the 2026/27 financial year to further expand the national fleet.
She has also announced plans to establish a national air ambulance service in collaboration with partner institutions, saying ground transport is not always sufficient in a country with vast distances between communities and health facilities.
One of the donated ambulances will be stationed at Kalkfeld in support of an initiative by the Mee Ndiku & Rev Ngeno Nakamhela Trust, while the second will be deployed by the ministry’s emergency medical service to the area with the greatest need.
Luvindao calls on mining companies, banks, insurers, fishing companies, oil and gas licence holders and retailers to partner with the government in strengthening healthcare services, saying the country’s health system cannot be sustained by the government alone.
Namport Social Investment Fund chairperson Amos Shiyuka says the donation followed a request received from the Mee Ndiku & Rev Ngeno Nakamhela Trust in October last year after the community highlighted the absence of a dedicated ambulance at Kalkfeld.
He says the request included Ngeno Nakamhela’s account of losing his wife in 2024 after she was unable to reach Otjiwarongo State Hospital in time because no ambulance was immediately available.
“That story stayed with us. It is the kind of story that no community should have to carry, and no family should have to tell,” Shiyuka says.
He says the Kalkfeld ambulance will be operated by the Ministry of Health and Social Services through the Kalkfeld clinic, while the trust will be responsible for its maintenance and servicing.
Shiyuka says the NSIF has allocated more than N$100 million to projects across Namibia’s 14 regions since its establishment in 2006, with more than N$58.2 million already disbursed to communities.
He urges other state-owned enterprises and private companies to support the government’s efforts to improve healthcare and other essential public services through long-term partnerships.
