Pepfar invests N$840 million in public health

The United States (US) President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar) will invest N$840 million in the new US Agency for International Development (USAID) programme, Reach Namibia, that will provide health services to vulnerable children, adolescents and the youth.

This was announced by Pepfar Namibia deputy principal for USAID Tamara Cox in Windhoek yesterday.

Reach Namibia will operate in eight selected regions in collaboration with two local organisations: Project HOPE Namibia, operating in the Khomas, Oshikoto, Omusati, Oshana, Ohangwena and Zambezi regions, and Intrahealth Namibia, which will operate in the Kavango East and West regions.

According to Cox, the programme will operate in these eight regions because they make up 80% of the country’s population.

“Through this new programme, USAID will reach those children and youths who have yet to be reached, including adolescent boys and young men made vulnerable due to HIV,” she said.

Speaking at the same event, executive director of health Ben Nangombe said the Reach Namibia programme will provide further support in incentives that relate to public health.

Nangombe said that the Reach Africa programme is an extension of a previous Pepfar programme – Dreams – which stands for Determined, Resilience, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe.

“This is a sort of consolidation on what the Dreams programme has been doing in Namibia by supporting young girls, adolescent boys and girls…” he said.

USAID deputy assistant administrator for Africa Maria Detherage reaffirmed the US government’s support for Namibia and the region.

She said the US government uses a holistic approach and looks at the bigger picture to understand how regions affect each other.

“USAID will continue supporting the region and Namibia by taking all of these aspects into consideration and harmonising them with each other,” Detherage said.