OPUWO, Namibia – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Namibia Representative, Sheila Roseau, on 14 December 2021 handed over a vehicle to the Director of Health in Kunene Region, Thomas Shapumba.

The vehicle will improve the capacity of Opuwo-based health extension workers (HEWs) to conduct their outreach programmes in the rural villages of the constituency.

Kunene region is one of the most sparsely populated regions in the country and has one of the toughest terrains, making it difficult to reach households with much-needed lifesaving interventions.

Shapumba said the community health extension workers assigned for Opuwo regular visits to conduct antenatal healthcare on pregnant women, HIV and AIDS and screening of tuberculosis (TB) face many challenges due to the villages there being scattered.

“We strongly hope that the vehicle will provide sufficient means to facilitate the smooth implementation and improvement of the outreach to the most remote and vulnerable communities,” said Roseau.

“With Covid-19, health extension workers have become more critical in mitigating the spread of the virus. They educate communities on prevention and address fears and misinformation,” she stated.