HIV and TB Overview: Namibia

Strategic focus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) office in Namibia was established in 2002. CDC collaborates with the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS) and the Namibia Institute of Pathology (NIP) to provide support and technical assistance, thereby enhancing the capacity of public health and laboratory systems. CDC focuses on building sustainable and locally led HIV and tuberculosis (TB) programs. CDC’s work has helped maintain the HIV improvements over the past two decades and strengthened the quality management of TB and HIV programs by collecting and analyzing data to improve strategic decision-making.

Read more about CDC's most recent key activities and accomplishments below.

Building public health capacity

• Improved workforce capacity by collaborating with the MOHSS and NIP to enhance healthcare training standards, strengthen workforce resilience, implement new performance management systems, and boost organizational efficiency.
• Modernized MOHSS health information systems by leveraging technology solutions to lower the cost and time to collect HIV and TB data and improve data quality and use.
• Strengthened public health institutions by supporting the establishment of the National Public Health Institute (NPHI), which will create a new platform for developing a skilled public health workforce and preparing for future outbreaks.
• Introduced population-level surveillance in collaboration with MOHSS by championing the use of HIV testing data collected during prenatal clinic visits to detect increased areas for HIV transmission.

Strengthening laboratory systems and networks

• Achieved faster laboratory results by working with the MOHSS and NIP to improve laboratory sample transport and introduce electronic reporting systems.
• Initiated advanced testing methods for people newly diagnosed with HIV to track the number of new infections more accurately.
• Facilitated agreements with laboratory commodity manufacturers to reduce the cost of HIV testing through sustainable pricing for routine tests.

HIV prevention and treatment

• Institutionalized the MOHSS mentorship program and quality improvement collaboratives to ensure that all healthcare workers have the necessary information and training to ensure HIV patients are receiving the appropriate treatment and are transitioning to new drug regimens when they are available.
• Introduced a new, simplified one-pill anti-viral medication (pALD) for children, lessening the challenge of daily treatment adherence.
• Developed innovative HIV differentiated service delivery models, including multi-month medication dispensing and training community health workers to deliver HIV treatment beyond clinics. These initiatives reduce crowded clinics and improve healthcare access across the country’s vast geographical landscape.
• Promoted new, long-acting injectable HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis medications to prevent HIV in pregnant and breastfeeding women for up to six months with a single injection.
• Developed tools for the screening and management of HIV treatment at the facility and community levels to improve treatment outcomes and the overall health and well-being of people living with HIV.

Tuberculosis prevention and treatment

• Integrated TB and HIV case finding to ensure that every person visiting a healthcare facility gets screened for both TB and HIV.
• Expanded access to high-quality laboratory tests, including Gene X-pert, to detect TB and drug resistance, confirm cases rapidly, and prevent further transmission in the community.

By the numbers

HIV

TB

Resources

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