Until recently, the use of Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs) in Namibia has been mainly focused on disease specific areas such as malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS. The Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS), however, has recently worked with the USAID-funded Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems (SPS) Program on developing comprehensive national guidelines which were formally launched on June 1, 2011.

In attendance at the launch which took place at Hilton Hotel in Windhoek was the Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Richard Kamwi; Dr. Norbert Forster, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the MoHSS; Ms. Wanda Nesbitt, the US Ambassador to Namibia; Ms. Debra Mosel, Acting USAID/Namibia Mission Director; along with several others representing the World Health Organization, United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Children’s Fund, University of Namibia, and public and private practitioners from across Namibia.

The purpose of the national STGs is to provide health care practitioners with clinical practice guidelines to help them make informed medical decisions on proper treatment using proven interventions. Practitioners and academicians from a wide variety of health fields, including specialists from the public and private sector of Namibia, have been involved in the consultative development of this guideline.

"The completion of the comprehensive Namibia standard treatment guidelines means that we now have a comprehensive set of tools to address the major, or the most prevalent health problems in Namibia. These STGs will assist health practitioners to make appropriate clinical decisions at all levels of the health care system, including the private sector. They have been prepared with the ultimate goal of optimising patient care and clinical outcomes," said Dr. Kamwi.

The STGs rank as one of the most important interventions in enabling the MoHSS to achieve a key tenet of the National Medicines Policy—to ensure that medicines are not only made available, but are also used rationally and in a cost-effective manner. The STGs provide preferred treatments for health problems experienced in the Namibian health system.

Following the launch, the STGs will be made available in all health facilities in Namibia, in both electronic and hard copies, to ensure quality health care for all Namibians. A number of supporting job aids, such as posters and algorithms on selected priority disease conditions will also be provided.

The first group of STG trainers, drawn from all the 13 regional medical teams and health training institutions, were trained on how to effectively use the STGs at a one-day training workshop held on May 31, 2011. They will be the regional focal persons charged with the responsibility of organizing and ensuring active dissemination and rollout for all health facilities in their regions.

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