Namibia launched the National Health Account (NHA) and National AIDS Spending Assessment (NASA) tools to measure and track health spending in the country, aiming to improve health financing on 6 December.
Speaking at the launch, Minister of Health and Social Services Kalumbi Shangula said the NHA serves as a tool to measure total health spending, while NASA tracks resources allocated to combating HIV/AIDS, offering insights into the effectiveness of these efforts.
“The ministry has committed itself to attaining universal health coverage (UHC) for Namibia. Attaining UHC would mean that the people of Namibia would have access to affordable, equitable, quality health services without suffering financial hardship,” he said.
Through this vision, our priority is to align health financing with stated health and welfare goals and to ensure that spending is effective, reaching those who need it, including the most vulnerable, people most at risk, and those living with HIV/AIDS, mothers and children, Shangula said.
The National Health Accounts estimation is crucial for understanding past health spending, and supporting the government in designing, monitoring, and assessing health financing reforms outlined in the ministry’s strategic plan, he said, adding that the primary aim is to generate estimates of total funds spent on general health and HIV/AIDS, tracking the funds from their sources to the final beneficiaries.
