Windhoek: The government’s central medical store has been consistently understocked for the past two years, operating at 57 percent below the minimum requirement of 80 percent, according to Health and Social Services Minister Dr. Esperance Luvindao. In a ministerial statement in the National Assembly, Luvindao said the state of affairs has had a tangible impact on the care of state patients.
According to Namibia Press Agency, Luvindao highlighted the severe implications of the supply shortfall on patient care. She described scenarios where diabetic patients rely on a consistent supply of insulin to manage their conditions and mothers unable to access necessary prenatal vitamins for a healthy pregnancy. These situations, she noted, arise from supply chain failures that the ministry is determined to prevent.
Luvindao was addressing the legislature on the procurement of pharmaceutical and clinical supplies in the country. She attributed the shortfall to various bottlenecks, including the lack of long-term procurement contracts, global supply chain disruption, and increased demand for pharmaceuticals. She explained that the absence of long-term contracts has led the ministry into a cycle of conducting emergency procurement, which, although necessary in urgent situations, has proven costly, especially when procuring from intermediary suppliers rather than directly from manufacturers.
Other challenges, according to the minister, include changing disease patterns and limited storage and warehousing capabilities. To address the shortage of essential medicines, Luvindao stated that the ministry activated emergency procurement protocols on 13 August 2025 to restore stock levels to 75 percent. The ministry is now procuring life-saving medications directly from international manufacturers and wholesalers under the emergency provisions of the Public Procurement Act of 2025.
The Ministry of Health and Social Services has allocated a budget of over N.dollars 1.89 billion for the procurement of pharmaceutical and clinical supplies in the 2025/26 financial year.