Following a directive from President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, senior government officials, including executive directors, the deputy auditor general, the secretary to the National Assembly and the President herself, will begin the transition from private medical suites to the corridors of our state hospitals. This is not merely a policy change or a budget-saving exercise because it is a profound reclamation of the public standard. For the youth of Namibia, this shift represents the end of a two-tier reality where the quality of a citizen’s healthcare was determined by the colour of their medical aid card.
To understand the youthful urgency of this transition, we must look at the “Vision April 2026” framework led by the Ministry of Health and Social Services. For years, the narrative around state hospitals has been one of us and them. While the majority of young Namibians relied on public clinics, those in positions of power often opted for the speed and comfort of the private sector, fuelled by billions in state-funded medical aid contributions known as PSEMAS. By directing leaders to use the same facilities as the public, the state is symbolically collapsing the divide between the elite and the ordinary. When a policymaker must wait in the same queue as a student or a young mother, the incentive to fix the basics like clean linen, working equipment, and consistent medicine supply moves from a strategic goal to a personal necessity.
The power of this directive lies in the accountability of shared experience. Accountability is often discussed in abstract terms during parliament sessions, but it is felt most acutely in the waiting room of a district hospital. Under the new directive, the senior officials who sign off on procurement budgets and infrastructure plans will now directly experience the results of their own decision-making. Phase I of this roll-out specifically targets the “knowledge management” and “decision-making” layers of government. By starting with the speechwriters, economic advisers, and executive directors, the implementation seeks to secure high-level buy-in. It ensures that those who draft the national health policies are the ones who must live under them.
For the young medical professionals entering the system today, this is a call to arms. The transition is expected to create over 31,000 jobs in the public health sector as the government shifts focus from subsidising private care to strengthening the national backbone. This means that the young nurse, the intern doctor, and the medical technologist are no longer just staff because they are now the frontline of a national reform. They are the ones who will prove that a public system can be efficient, respectful, and high-performing. This policy relies on a mindset shift as much as a resource one. It challenges the culture of complacency that sometimes takes root in neglected systems. When the standard of care rises to meet the needs of the president, it rises for the child in the most remote corner of the Ohangwena region as well.
Critics of the directive argue that it restricts the freedom of choice for civil servants who contribute to their medical aid. Political analysts have even suggested that health is a personal matter and forcing officials into one system does not solve the inherent challenges of that system. However, from a perspective of national equity, we must ask at what cost that choice comes. Currently, the state allocates about N$3 billion annually to Psemas, money that largely flows into the private sector. The 2026 transition aims to redirect these financial resources to bring specialised services in-house.
The Ministry of Health has already conducted a comprehensive assessment of facilities across all 14 regions to identify infrastructure gaps. The findings were an honest reflection of non-operational equipment and staffing shortfalls, which Vision 2026 is designed to correct. We have already seen the expansion of ICU units in Gobabis, Mariental, and Rundu, alongside the installation of dialysis machines in district hospitals countrywide. For the youth, who are the primary beneficiaries of long-term systemic health, this is about sustainability. A health system that caters only to the elite is a fragile one, but a system that is robust enough to care for its leaders is a system that can protect its future. This directive forces a level of transparency that no audit report ever could because it ensures that when we talk about dignity and comfort in our hospitals, we are talking about a standard that is universal rather than exceptional.
The success of Vision April 2026 will not be decided by the directive alone but by the persistence of those who use and run the system. Young Namibians must be the most vocal advocates for this change. We must be the ones who refuse to accept broken systems as the status quo. By supporting a system where everyone, regardless of rank, is treated with the same level of clinical excellence, we are building a foundation of social solidarity that will last for generations.
The transition also addresses the “limbo” that many medical graduates have found themselves in. With additional funding identified during the mid-year budget review, the ministry has been filling thousands of personnel gaps, with over 1,200 positions filled by mid-January 2026. This influx of young, energetic health workers is the engine that will power the new public healthcare standard. We are moving toward a future where “public” is no longer synonymous with “poor”.
Leadership is not about the title you hold but the character you show in the stewardship of your responsibilities. As senior officials begin to walk through the doors of our state hospitals this April, they are being asked to show that character. And as the youth of Namibia, we are being asked to hold the line on competence. This is our opportunity to transform our public health from a safety net for the marginalised into a standard for the entire nation. It is a win for accountability, a win for equity, and ultimately, a win for the dignity of every Namibian citizen. As we move toward the April deadline, we must remember that a healthy nation is one where the leader and the led are healed by the same hand.
