Unam health sciences campus named after Geingob

THE University of Namibia has renamed its health sciences campus in Khomasdal after President Hage Geingob.

Speaking at the naming ceremony today, Unam vice chancellor Lazarus Hangula said the campus is named after Geingob for his remarkable contribution towards the emancipation, growth and development of Namibia.

“It was on this basis that the Unam management approached the university council with the proposal to name this very important and promising campus after the head of state,” said Hangula.

He noted that Geingob’s contribution to Namibia is not confined to his role in pre- and post-independence politics, but for the important role played as a petitioner for Namibia’s independence from South African rule at the United Nations.

Geingob was also the founding Prime Minister, a parliamentarian, and minister of trade and industry.

“The naming practice as adopted by Unam some years ago is a peremptory statement that the person whose name is given to a campus, building, hall or laboratory of the university has contributed significantly materially or otherwise to the development and growth of the institution or Namibia as a whole,” said Hangula.

At the occasion, Geingob said it is an honour to have the campus named after him.

“The campus is an important investment in our health sector and will have an integral role to play in the future of our Namibian House,” said the Namibian leader.

He noted that students who will pursue respective disciplines in the health sciences are preparing to establish themselves as the guardians of national wellbeing and vitality, as well as enablers of economic productivity and global competitiveness of the country.

The campus was officially inaugurated in 2011 with office buildings for academic and administrative staff, laboratories as well as the departments of anatomy and physiology.

There are still three additional segments, including the dental training department, that need to be completed in order to finalise the infrastructural master plan for the campus.

Today, the campus has a school of medicine with 600 students, school of pharmacy with 200 students, public health with 100 students, school dentistry with 22 students and school of allied health sciences with 30 students and eight students specialising in anaesthesiology.

– Nampa