WINDHOEK: Deputy Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Angelika Muharukua says despite the progress made with regards to addressing gender equality issues, many challenges still remain.
The deputy minister said this while officially opening a one-day gender workshop in the capital today.
The information-sharing workshop, held by the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Namibia in cooperation with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, is aimed at fostering policy dialogue on gender equality and women’s empowerment between the ministry, its development partners, and civil society.
By strengthening partnerships, it is hoped that progress on the gender agenda will be fast-tracked in line with the revised National Gender Policy for 2010 to 2020, which provides guiding principles and a framework for implementing gender equality programmes.
Women in Namibia are facing an increased prevalence of HIV/AIDS, high rates of gender-based violence, baby dumping, teenage pregnancy and continued pervasive gender and intra-household inequalities which are exacerbated by poverty, a lack of employment, vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters that affect their sources of livelihoods.
Women also continue to be under-represented in decision making, both in the public and private sectors, Muharukua said.
The community of the Eluwa Special School here now has a clinic, following its official inauguration by the Health and Social Services Minister Dr Richard Kamwi here yesterday.
The new N.dollars 5 million clinic is aimed at providing health services to some 420 learners as well as the teaching staff of Eluwa, a special school for learners with visual and hearing impairments.
The provision of health care services to the community of Eluwa, as well as a few patients from the surrounding areas, had been done in one of the classrooms at that school since 1973.
The clinic serves between 60 and 100 patients per day.
It has, amongst other facilities, nine consulting rooms, a reception area, toilets, as well as a nurses’ home.