Namibia
Namibian Parliament discusses women's health

afrol.com, 28 November - Namibian oppositional MP Rosa Namises, last week urged the Government to reintroduce the controversial Sterilisation and Termination of Pregnancy Bill of 1996 in the National Assembly. She brought up the connection between women's health, unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions and the AIDS pandemic in Namibia.

The Parliament discussion took place amidst high incidents of HIV/AIDS infections currently being detected among pregnant women in Namibia. 

The Government had been compelled to withdraw the Sterilisation and Termination of Pregnancy Bill after public outcry against the Bill. The outcry was spearheaded by church denominations in the country. "The Sterilisation and Termination of Pregnancy Bill of 1996 was dropped by the Government in 1999 without any research on the extent of unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions in Namibia and their effects on women’s lives," Rosa Namises alleged. 

However, Health Minister Dr Libertine Amathila was quick to point out to Mrs. Namises that the Government withdrew the Bill after it discovered that a large majority of the public countrywide was against its introduction. "Government cannot introduce a Bill if the nation at large is against such a Bill," she stressed. The Minister appealed to all women parliamentarians to sensitise the nation, especially women, about the benefits of the proposed Abortion Act in their respective constituencies.

- While women who can afford it can now secure safe abortion in clinics in South Africa, poor women in Namibia continue to subject themselves to having unsafe abortions or bearing unwanted children, leading to the practice of infanticide in cases where women feel they cannot cope with the burden of raising a child in an unsupportive environment, Mrs. Namises continued. She called upon Namibians to "break the culture of silence in which fear and discrimination surrounds HIV/AIDS in our community." 

- We need programmes that foster openness about the disease, awareness about its causes and respect for those affected by it, she said. "Young people under 25 years are those mostly likely to become infected with HIV, so they deserve and need comprehensive sexuality education in our schools that will help them make sound and informed decisions about their health, sexuality and well-being," she went on. 

Mrs. Namises also claimed that "HIV/AIDS is demanding the urgent attention of the Government of Namibia because the disease is the worst social and human catastrophe in history. Of the 2,8 million people who died of AIDS in 1999, 79 per cent were Africans." According to her, AIDS is draining the resources and stamina of families and governments. 

Gains made in reducing maternal and child mortality rates through primary health care programmes are being lost through the rapid increase in the transmission of HIV/AIDS and its devastating effects on the population. "Many children are now dying because of HIV/AIDS which they have contracted from their mothers. Today we have enough scientific knowledge that drugs such as AZT or Nevirapine prevent the transmission of the virus from mothers to their babies. Why is it that there are still no programmes introduced in Namibia to this effect?" she asked.

Rosa Namises lashed out at the Government for having allocated N$ 100 million to the DRC military operation in the additional budget, money that could have been used to combat HIV/AIDS, unemployment and poverty in Namibia. "We have to find peaceful ways of solving conflicts and redirect these resources to concerns that are burning in Namibia. Moreover, these peace missions have to include women," added MP Namise. 

Sources: Based on Namibian Government sources

 

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