The Onandjokwe Intermediate Hospital has reduced its maternal mortality ratio from over 400 deaths per 100 000 live births in 1998 to just 70 per 100 000 in 2026, meeting the third Sustainable Development Goal target for 2030.
Speaking at the official opening of the Onandjokwe Intermediate Hospital maternity unit on Friday, health and social services minister Esperance Luvindao praised the hospital’s progress and commended its management team and healthcare workers for striving toward zero maternal deaths.
The maternity unit, with a 120-bed capacity, features sleek flooring, modular units, and 12 private rooms (six antenatal and six postnatal). The ward is equipped to handle complex cases requiring advanced care and includes two operating theatres for emergency obstetric services.
The hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Siraji Rwehumbiza says the hospital’s maternal mortality ratio had earlier fallen to 14.4 per 100 000 by 2017.
He says neonatal mortality ratio dropped from 25 per 1 000 live births in 2016 to 8.8 per 1 000 in the third quarter of 2025/26, while neonatal intensive care unit mortality decreased from 70% in 2017/18 to 17.7% in 2024/25.
He reports that patient waiting times have improved from three days in 2009, when patients slept on hospital premises, to an average of four hours to date, in the outpatient department.
“Overall institutional mortality now stands at 3.8%, below the international benchmark of 4-6%,” he says.
The superintendent also says the average length of hospital stay has been halved from 14 to six days, with minimal invasive surgery being a game changer, reducing hospital stay to just a day.
He adds that the hospital’s workforce has grown over the past 10 years, from 15 to 125, with dentists increasing from one to eight, registered nurses from 75 to 298, and enrolled nurses now standing at 264. It also has nine pharmacists and nine radiographers.
The hospital, he highlights, is accredited to train general surgery specialists through The College of Surgeons in East, Central and Southern Africa, with processes underway for anaesthesia training accreditation through the College of Anaesthesiologists of East, Central, and Southern Africa.
“These results demonstrate strong leadership and dedication by Onandjokwe hospital staff, establishing the facility as a leading model for maternal and child healthcare in Namibia,” he says.
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