Namibia: Country’s Classification Worries Kamwi

Alvine Kapitako

18 July 2011

Windhoek — Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Richard Kamwi, has voiced concern over the World Bank’s classification of Namibia as an upper middle-income country while it has a Gini-coefficient of 0.743 – the highest in the world.

The Gini-coefficient is a measure of the inequality of distribution, a value of 0 expressing total equality and a value of 1 maximal inequality.

The minister said the classification would affect the country in getting financial assistance.

“The high Gross National Product (GNP) conceals the fact that a large proportion of the population (37.7%) lives under the poverty threshold while experiencing unemployment especially among the youth,” said the minister.

Kamwi said this at a media briefing recently where he gave a brief account of the 2011 United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on HIV/AIDS that was held in New York, United States, last month.

In line with the 2001 and 2006 United Nations (UN) General Assembly Declarations on HIV/AIDS, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon arranged a high level meeting of the General Assembly from June 8 to 10 in New York.

Kamwi said the purpose of the meeting was to review progress made to date in the global fight against HIV/AIDS and to build consensus on a new global compact aimed at reaching universal access in order to achieve zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

“The main basis for discussions during the high level meeting was the report by the Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to the General Assembly,” said the minister.

Overall, the report states that very good progress has been made in the global fight against HIV/AIDS during the past 10 years.

Kamwi revealed that Namibia, Botswana and Rwanda were among countries cited in the report as having reached universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment, care and support.

The minister reported that according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Executive Secretary, Michél Sidibe, Namibia is one of few countries that have put significant financial resources in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

This is while complemented by the Global Fund and the United States of America funded President’s Emergency for AIDS relief (PEPFAR).

“A total of 50 percent of the financial resources is from our own coffers. We need to pat ourselves on the back,” said Kamwi.

The Namibian delegation presented a country report at the meeting. The report highlighted the country’s achievements.

Namibia has made progress in scaling up services across the country with anti-retroviral treatment now being offered in 181 decentralised sites among others, remarked Kamwi.

“Coverage of people in need has increased from 2 percent in 2003 to over 90 percent in March 2010,” the minister highlighted.

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