Strengthening resilience in the health sector in Namibia! Building medical-scientific competencies and further developing capacities for teaching and research at the University of Namibia UNAM

In addition to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many collateral negative aspects on public health are expected in Namibia, such as a reduction in tuberculosis vaccination rates and supply difficulties of drugs for the treatment of chronic diseases.

In recent years, Namibia has invested heavily in its health infrastructure and in building research and training capacity to improve health care in the medium and long term. For example, the University of Namibia (UNAM) - School of Medicine (SoM) trains doctors, among others, and is currently expanding existing laboratory capacities with financial support from KfW. Another pillar is the comprehensive training of junior staff for the public health system, especially for preparing the health system to prevent or effectively combat epidemic diseases. 

Within the framework of the BLP project, medical-scientific competencies are to be built up and the capacities for teaching and research at UNAM are to be further developed. The aim is to strengthen and empower the Namibian health system to apply the necessary preventive and acute response options for epidemic or pandemic diseases, and to provide sustainable scientific and diagnostic capacity for SARS CoV-2 and other infectious diseases. The project builds on a long-standing cooperation between the Federal State of Bremen, the University of Bremen and UNAM, among others.

You can find the factsheet of the project here.