Oldest hospital needs revamp

A WELL-KNOWN church activist and former schoolteacher, Selma Shejavali, has called for donations to rebuild two wards of the oldest hospital in northern Namibia.

Shejavali said the Onandjokwe Lutheran Hospital, which has a capacity of 473 beds but always accommodates more, treats 500 outpatients a day and with 22 doctors and 300 nurses was overstretched and close to collapse in places. She said wards two and three were “too old to renovate and not in a position to accommodate patients”.She has appealed for donations into a hospital special account before August 21 when celebrations will be held for the hospital’s first private ward.The hospital, which is based at Oniipa, 10km east of Ondangwa, belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (Elcin).She said wards two and three were “too old to renovate and not in a position to accommodate patients”.She has appealed for donations into a hospital special account before August 21 when celebrations will be held for the hospital’s first private ward.The hospital, which is based at Oniipa, 10km east of Ondangwa, belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (Elcin).