Quick Facts about Namibia:

Official Name: Republic of Namibia
Population: 2,114,161
Capital City: Windhoek (pop. 268,132)
Currency: Namibian Dollars
Languages: English 7% (official), Afrikaans 60%, German 32%, and numerous tribal dialects
Religions: Christian (80%), indigenous beliefs (20%)

Sossosvlei Dunes, Namib National Park, Namibia

South Africa once occupied the German colony of South-West Africa (now Namibia) during World War I and administered it as a mandate until after World War II, when it annexed the territory.
In 1966, the Marxist South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) guerrilla group launched a war of independence for the area that was soon named Namibia, but it was not until 1988 that South Africa agreed to end its administration in accordance with a UN peace plan for the entire region. Namibia won its independence in 1990 and has been governed by SWAPO since.
Hifikepunye Pohamba was elected president in November 2004 in a landslide victory replacing Sam Nujoma who led the country during its first 14 years of self rule. Pohamba was re-elected in the 2009 elections by an overwhelming vote.
About one-half of the population lives below the international poverty line and the economy suffers greatly from the effects of HIV/AIDS.
Namibia’s economy depends primarily on mining – it is the fourth largest exporter of non-fuel minerals in Africa and the world’s fifth largest producer of uranium. As for tourism, Although Namibia presents a brutally hot climate, travelers journey here to tour the barren red-sand deserts, and the highest sand dunes in the world in Namib National Park.

Map of Africa showing location of Namibia.

This map shows the capital city of Windhoek and if you look northwest you will find the village of Ondangwa!

Back to Namibia!

I am excited to be returning to Namibia. My laboratory colleagues are great fun to be with and together we are facilitating two separate workshops- each 1 week in length. We fly into Windhoek and spend the night then fly on to Ondangwa where the venue for both workshops is located. Week one we will be giving a BLOT II (Basic laboratory Operations Training II) workshop. In this week we will discuss lab management principles, Quality Indicators, Pre-analytical, Analytical, and Post-analytical variables that affect the accuracy and reliability of lab test results, Quality Control and how to interpret errors, and stock management. Week 2 we will facilitate a Phlebotomy workshop for laboratorians and nurses. We will focus on pre-analytical variables, safety, using Best Practices in performing venipuncture procedures, and cusstomer satisfaction. I will post pictures daily (if internet access allows) of activities we did during that day and share comments from our Namibian colleagues. I am posting a few pics from our last trip until I get new pics to post!



Mathew and Colleague holding Traveling Tommy. We performed a post-assessment using the WHO -Afro Accreditation Checklist at the central lab; the lab has made impressive improvements in the past 8 months.





Traveling Tommy getting his picture taken with the SST tubes. The blood specimens are waiting their turn to be analyzed and reported back to clinicians so their patients can be diagnosed and treated correctly! The Central Lab is a 500 bed hospital and the lab is extremely busy!





Bev and Mathew are shopping at the Ondangwa Market! Mathew said his wife would be proud of him for escorting Bev and I through the market and helping us buy "Ondangwa Dresses and head scarves". We did have fun and made many purchases!