Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 219 KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1990 Population: 2,303,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 2.1% p.a. 1990–2013 GNI p.c.: US$5,840 (2013) UN HDI 2014: World ranking 127 Life expectancy: 64 years (2013) Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 50 (2013) Largest contribution to mortality: HIV/AIDS Government health expenditure: 5.1% of GDP (2013) General information Namibia in south-west Africa is one of the driest and most sparsely populated countries on Earth. It is bounded by the South Atlantic Ocean on the west, Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south. The Caprivi Strip, a narrow extension of land in the extreme north-east, connects it to Zambia. Namibia comprises 13 regions (from south to north): Karas, Hardap, Khomas, Erongo, Omaheke, Otjozondjupa, Kunene, Oshikoto, Okavango, Omusati, Oshana, Caprivi and Ohangwena. Climate: Arid, semi-arid and sub-humid. Prolonged periods of drought are characteristic. There is little precipitation apart from rare thunderstorms in the arid zone of the Namib Desert coast, with rainfall rising to 600 mm or more in the sub-humid northeastern border with Angola and the Caprivi Strip. Rain falls in summer (October–April). The cold Benguela current gives the Namib Desert thick coastal fog. Environment: The most significant environmental issues are the scarcity of natural freshwater resources and desertification. Population: 2,303,000 (2013); density is extremely low overall, 45 per cent of people live in urban areas. The population growth rate stood at 2.1 per cent p.a. between the years of 1990 and 2013. In 2013 the birth rate was 26 per 1,000 people (43 in 1970) and life expectancy was 64 years (53 in 1970 and 62 in 1990). The Ovambo and Kavango together constitute about 60 per cent of the total population. Other groups are the Herero, Damara, Nama and the Caprivians. The San (Bushmen), who are among the world’s oldest surviving hunter-gatherers, have lived in this territory for more than 11,000 years. The ‘Basters’, who settled in Rehoboth in 1870, stem from marriages between white farmers and Khoi mothers in the Cape. The ‘Cape Coloureds’, immigrants from South Africa, tend to live in urban areas. Of the white demographic of approximately 90,000, about 50 per cent are of South African and 25 per cent of German ancestry; about 20 per cent are Afrikaners (longerestablished migrants); and a small minority are of UK ancestry. Economy: Namibia is classified as an upper-middle-income economy by the World Bank. Health Child and maternal health: Infant mortality in Namibia stood at 35 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, with an under-five mortality rate of 50 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013. While the under-five mortality figure has fallen since the early 1990s, it is not yet in line with the target of 25 deaths per 1,000 live births as defined by Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4). In 2012 the four most prominent causes of death for children below the age of five years were prematurity (20 per cent), acute respiratory infections (13 per cent) and intrapartum-related complications (13 per cent). Other contributory causes were congenital anomalies (ten per cent), HIV/AIDS (nine per cent), neonatal sepsis (seven per cent), diarrhoea (six per cent), injuries (six per cent) and measles (three per cent). In 2013 Namibia had an adjusted maternal mortality ratio of 130 deaths per 100,000 live births (this figure was estimated at 200 deaths per 100,000 live births by UN agencies/World Bank in 2010). Burden of disease: Communicable diseases together with maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions accounted for an estimated 47 per cent of all mortality in 2012. The prevalence of HIV in Namibia, as a percentage of people aged 15–49 years, was 14.3 per cent in 2012. HIV prevalence has fallen slightly since 2002. There were 194 reported cases of malaria in 2012. There has been a significant overall reduction in confirmed cases of malaria and deaths from the disease in the period 2006–12. There has also been a notable overall decline in estimated incidence of and Namibia
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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