Address
Of the
Hon Dr Richard Nchabi Kamwi, MP
Minister of Health and Social Services
During the
African Health Profession Regulatory Collaborative
Summative Congress
24 February
Windhoek
Programme Director
Principal Investigator ARC, Emory University, Ms. Maureen
Kelley
Representative of the International Council of Nurses, Ms.
Jean Barry
Representative of the International Confederation of
Midwives, African Region Representative, Ms Jemina
Dennis-Antwi
Regional Advisor HRH, WHO-AFRO, Dr. Djona
Avocksouma
Director General ECSA-HC, Professor Yoswa Dambisya
Members of the media
Ladies and Gentlemen
I join the Programme Director in welcoming you to this
regional congress which is being held under the theme
“Aligning health professional regulation with scale up of nurse
initiated and managed anti-retroviral therapy to accelerate
childhood HIV treatment and reach an AIDS free generation.”
I am pleased that Namibia has been chosen to host a gathering
of this magnitude which provides the necessary platform to
exchange views on issues pertaining to the alignment of
professional regulation to enable professionals, especially
nurses and midwives ensure comprehensive care especially in
the areas of scaling up HIV treatment.
The significance of this programme, which is mainly to
strengthen the health workforce in Africa and to ensure that
health workers have the on-going training they need to keep up
with changing clinical milieu and practice standards, cannot be
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over emphasized. Its international nature bears testimony to
the ever changing face of Africa in tackling the scourge of the
HIV/AIDS epidemic.
I am aware that many countries have made commendable
efforts and great strides in this fight. However, we still have a
long way to go and gatherings like this will go a long way in
ensuring that we reach our intended objectives, amongst them
an HIV free generation.
Programme director
Ladies and gentlemen
Namibia attaches great importance to partnerships and
international
cooperation. It is through these valuable
collaborations that we have been able to mount a credible fight
against HIV and AIDS and to strengthen our health care
system.
Nurses and midwives are frontline workers in any health care
systems. The importance of African Health Profession
Regulatory Collaborative (ARC) in strengthening nursing and
midwifery regulatory bodies is therefore very vital.
I wish to commend the work of ARC and also stress the
importance of nurses and midwives in the forefront of the fight
against the HIV and AIDS epidemic, who tirelessly work to
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prevent as well as promote behaviour change at the individual,
family and community levels.
Your may wish to know that Namibia has achieved a lot on the
health front due to her emphasis on the Primary Health Care
approach. For instance, the mother to child transmission of HIV
has been reduced from 35% to 4%. Much of this success is due
to nurses who work on the frontlines in the clinic settings to
educate, test both men and women and provide medication.
In this regard, the country’s nursing and midwifery regulatory
body has also been very instrumental in the development of an
open ended scope of nursing and midwifery practice, which
allows them to render comprehensive nursing and midwifery
care.
Programme Director
Ladies and gentlemen
Therefore, important as nurse professionals may be, they
cannot do what needs to be done alone. They need the support
of others professionals and stakeholders. Support, collaboration
and partnerships like these are therefore the key to success.
The theme of this summative congress is very befitting as we
all have to take hands in order to effectively scale up the
provision of HIV treatment. I am informed that you will be
sharing good practices and also work on the way forward.
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The idea of sharing and consultation, where we learn from each
other and through each other will infuse the African region
with vibrancy and dynamism. The open sharing of our
experiences and discourse will provide this region with fresh
ideas, sound values and constructive experiences. This is one of
the ways that allows us to gain insight into our mutual
concerns and thereby enable us develop more accurate
strategies with regard to health care delivery.
I am optimistic that this forum will offer practical solutions to
the different challenges the continent is facing in relation to
HIV/AIDS. I am also hopeful that after intensive discussions
and sharing of ideas, this forum will come up with clear and
firm guidelines on how best Africa can advance the cause of
further engaging the regulatory bodies in this noble initiative.
Ladies and gentlemen
Once again, allow me to commend the organisers of this
Summative Congress for having chosen to come to Namibia.
Equally so, I wish to commend the international community for
their unwavering financial, material and technical support in
the fight against HIV/AIDS worldwide.
Finally, I trust that you will find us a hospitable and welcoming
nation. You may not have the opportunity and time to visit
places outside Windhoek but our capital city will provide a
varied array of interesting places to visit, when you have the
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time. Your fellow local participants should be in a position to
show you around.
Thank you
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