MPs demand resources to make mental health reforms work
Patience Makwele Members of Parliament have backed Namibia’s proposed Mental Health Bill but warned that its reforms could fail without adequate funding, specialised staff, infrastructure and services reaching rural communities. The warning was raised during a National Council session on Tuesday, as MPs debated the Mental Health Bill 8 of 2025, which seeks to replace […]
Members of Parliament have backed Namibia’s proposed Mental Health Bill but warned that its reforms could fail without adequate funding, specialised staff, infrastructure and services reaching rural communities.
The warning was raised during a National Council session on Tuesday, as MPs debated the Mental Health Bill 8 of 2025, which seeks to replace the Mental Health Act of 1973 with a rights-based system focused on treatment, rehabilitation and community-based mental healthcare.
Zedekia Katjiuanjo said the government must ensure the legislation is matched with resources, warning that services remain concentrated in Windhoek while communities in the regions struggle to access specialised care.
“A law without posts and money will remain a paper law,” Katjiuanjo said.
He called for a mental health unit at every regional hospital and at least one trained mental health worker at every district hospital and health centre.
Katjiuanjo also urged the government to fund a national awareness campaign involving traditional leaders, churches and schools, as well as radio stations broadcasting in local languages, to tackle the stigma surrounding mental illness.
“In our villages mental illness is called a curse,” he said.
His concerns over infrastructure were echoed by Andreas Amundjindi, who said only Windhoek Central Hospital and Oshakati Hospital currently accommodate people with mental health conditions.
Amundjindi said both facilities face staff shortages, limited services and inadequate space, contributing to overcrowding.
He said Oshakati has no clinical psychologist despite the number of patients requiring specialised care.
Amundjindi called for incentives to attract and retain health professionals in psychiatric departments and urged the government to construct additional facilities in Kavango East, Kavango West, Zambezi, Hardap and //Kharas regions.
Eddie /Nanub warned that the bill risks becoming an unfunded mandate if the government does not address shortages of facilities and mental health professionals.
“A bill that looks good on paper but fails on the ground is not progress; it is a betrayal of the very people it claims to protect,” /Nanub said.
He said Windhoek Central Hospital’s psychiatric unit has roughly 220 beds, while Oshakati’s Ward 16, built for 60 patients, routinely accommodates more than 200.
/Nanub also said Namibia has fewer than 10 psychiatrists, calling for a dedicated recruitment and training budget for psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric nurses and social workers.
He demanded a costed implementation roadmap specifying which facilities would be built, where they would be located and when they would become operational, together with a ring-fenced budget for mental health infrastructure and staff recruitment.
Augusta Katembo said infrastructure alone would not solve the problem, warning that beliefs linking mental illness to witchcraft continue to fuel stigma and delay treatment.
She said some people with mental health conditions are hidden by their families because of shame and fear.
Katembo called for traditional and community leaders to participate in awareness programmes and urged government to strengthen community-based services by training health workers to identify mental health problems early and provide support.
Joseph Sikongo stressed that mental illness can affect anyone, regardless of their current health status.
“Today we are fine. But after this meeting, one can be mentally ill,” Sikongo told the council.
He said the bill could help combat discrimination by encouraging Namibians to recognise mental illness as a health condition that can affect anyone.
Vilho Nuunyango warned that untreated mental health conditions carry consequences beyond the health sector, linking them to job losses, school dropouts, poverty and homelessness.
Nuunyango said expanding access to mental healthcare could help people remain productive at work and school while reducing the wider social and economic burden.
He called for services to be extended beyond Windhoek and Oshakati, particularly to rural communities.
Nanub also raised concerns about family caregivers, arguing that the bill must recognise the burden carried by relatives and frontline health workers.
“If you do not protect the caregiver, you cannot protect the patient,” he said, calling for respite care, counselling and training support.
He further proposed stronger independent oversight of involuntary admissions to prevent potential abuse and called for specific attention to maternal mental health, including post-partum depression and psychosis.
The bill represents a shift from the institutionalisation and confinement associated with the 1973 Act towards treatment, support, community-based care and protection of patients’ rights.
However, the MPs stressed that the success of the proposed law will ultimately depend on whether the government can translate those rights into functionin
