Windhoek: National Council members have backed the Mental Health Bill, saying it would replace Namibia's outdated mental health legislation with a rights-based framework centred on treatment, rehabilitation and community-based care.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the Mental Health Bill, Bill 8 of 2025, was passed by the National Assembly earlier this year and is now before the House of Review. It seeks to repeal the Mental Health Act of 1973, which members said was largely centred on detention and hospitalisation.
During Tuesday's debate, lawmakers said that the proposed legislation would bring mental healthcare in line with the Namibian Constitution and modern approaches to mental health, while strengthening safeguards against abuse, discrimination and unlawful detention.
At the beginning of the session, National Council Chairperson Lukas Sinimbo Muha described the Mental Health Bill as an important piece of legislation and said members should be given sufficient time to make their contributions to the debate.
Andreas Amundjindi, councillor for Uukwiyuwuushona in the Oshana Region, said the Bill was important because it aligns with constitutional provisions on human dignity and equality. He said the legislation provides for mental healthcare, patients' rights and the responsibilities of public health authorities, while establishing review boards and penalties for abuse and discrimination.
The lawmaker added that the Bill also represents a shift from confinement towards 'healing and reintegration', while seeking to bring mental health services closer to communities. 'This new bill pushes mental health care to primary health clinics and communities to make early intervention and suicide prevention compared to the 1973 Act, which focused more on institutionalisation and confinement,' Amundjindi said.
Vilho Nuunyango, councillor for Oniipa in the Oshikoto Region, said the new Mental Health Bill is very important because it has moved from locking people up to treating, supporting and protecting people. He said improved access to treatment could reduce lost working days, school dropouts and poverty linked to untreated mental health conditions.
Augusta Katembo, councillor for Mukwe in the Kavango East Region, described the Bill as 'a transformative and rights-based piece of legislation' that would move Namibia from a custodial approach to a model of care, support and rehabilitation. She highlighted provisions protecting patients from abuse, unlawful detention and inhuman treatment, as well as voluntary and assisted treatment, mental health review mechanisms and the integration of mental healthcare into primary healthcare.
However, members warned that the Bill's implementation would require adequate funding, infrastructure and specialised personnel. Eddie Nanub, councillor for Khorixas, said community-based care could not be achieved without the necessary facilities. 'You cannot legislate 'community care' into existence when there are no clinics, no halfway houses, and no day-care centres in our constituencies,' Nanub said.
He cited overcrowding at Windhoek Central Hospital's psychiatric unit and Oshakati's Ward 16, which he said was built for 60 patients but routinely accommodates more than 200. Nanub called for a costed implementation roadmap, ring-fenced funding for mental health infrastructure and staff recruitment, and stronger protection for family caregivers.
Zedekia Katjiuanjo called for the Bill to compel the Ministry of Health and Social Services to establish a mental health unit at every regional hospital and deploy at least one trained mental health worker to every district hospital and health centre. Members also called for nationwide awareness campaigns to combat stigma, equitable distribution of services and stronger oversight to ensure the proposed reforms benefit people, particularly in rural areas.