| Capital |
|
Windhoek |
| Official Language |
English |
| Population |
2,108,665
(2009 estimate*) |
| # Living with HIV/AIDS |
180,000
(2009 estimate*) |
| # Living with TB |
13,000
(2009 estimate*) |
| # of Malaria Cases |
81,812
(2009 estimate*) |
| *All data is courtesy of |
globalhealthfacts.org |
| Updated March 2011 |
Ministry Foreign Affairs webpage
The Republic of Namibia lies in southern Africa bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south. Namibia was once a colony of Germany and later South Africa from which it gained independence in 1990. It is named after the Namib Desert and is the second most sparsely populated country in the world. Namibia is one of Africa's most developed and stable countries.
Namibia's climate is generally extremely dry and arable land accounts for only 1% of the country. The Kalahari Desert is perhaps Namibia's best known geographical feature. Shared with South Africa and Botswana, it has a variety of localized environments including areas that seem to defy the common definition of desert. One of these areas, known as the Succulent Karoo, is home to over 5,000 species of plants, nearly half of them endemic. One-third of the world's succulents are found in the Karoo. Another feature of the Kalahari and many parts of Namibia are inselbergs, isolated mountains, that create microclimates and habitat for organisms not adapted to life in the surrounding desert matrix.
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Namibia
LabCap Objectives
- Strengthening the quality of laboratory testing for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear microscopy, tuberculosis (TB) liquid culture, drug susceptibility testing (DST), and identification
- Providing technical guidance for laboratory infrastructure development and procurement of specialized TB equipment and reagents
- Assisting with the development and institution of laboratory standards and procedures
- Implementing quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) procedures
- Optimizing the MEDITECH laboratory information system for reporting of data
- Improving biosafety
Program Highlights
Strengthening the TB Laboratory Network
ASM began collaborating with the Namibia Institute for Pathology (NIP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-Namibia in 2006 to implement new diagnostics for rapid detection and identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis as well as improve AFB smear microscopy services. NIP functions as a parastatal organization, fully subsidized by the Namibia Ministry of Health and Social Services, and operates more than 30 laboratories in the public sector
ASM conducted a five-day workshop on AFB smear microscopy using the consensus Acid-Fast Direct Smear Microscopy Training Package. The course followed by site visits to NIP peripheral labs performing AFB smear microscopy. ASM carried out assessments at each facility using the External Quality Assessment for AFB Smear Microscopy manual's on-site evaluation checklist and conducted panel tests using a set of prepared unstained AFB smears.
ASM technical assistance and mentoring was provided to the Central TB Laboratory in Windhoek for the following from the start of the program through to June 2011:
- Reorganization laboratory workflow and safety practices
- Development of SOPs
- Development and customization of laboratory training materials
- Development of measures to improve internal QC and QA
- Validation of their existing technology for TB liquid culture and DST, the MB Bac/T Alert, as well as the Gen-Probe Accuprobe for identification
- Creation of a list for procurement of operational and safety supplies
- Safety training
- implement BSL3 biosafety standards and quality management systems (the lab is newly refurbished as a BSL3)
- Improve technical procedures and processes including specimen processing, smear microscopy, liquid culture, identification and DST
- Compile an improvement plan for the laboratory and mentor the staff through the initial stages of the plan
Implementing New Diagnostics for Rapid Detection of TB
In 2007, the Central TB Laboratory in WIndhoek procured a BD MGIT 960 for Mycobacterial Detection to address their high volume of samples for culture and DST. Through ASM support, the laboratory reorganized their workflow, developed the appropriate SOPs and QC procedures for the BD MGIT 960, standardized laboratory forms and reports from the MEDITECH laboratory information system, and validated the new liquid culture system. Namibia has since completed their first national multidrug-resistant TB survey using this system and has plans to decentralize TB liquid culture in 2009.
In 2010, ASM provided a workshop for the implementation of fluorescence microscopy in Namibia. The country has since implemented the instruments and validated them.
In May and June of 2011, ASM worked with the (now newly refurbished BSL3) Central TB Laboratory in Windhoek to implement the Hain MTBDRplus Line Probe Assay for identification and DST of mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. An ASM LabCap consultant mentored 8 staff on the procedure and developed a revised algorithm with the NIP for standardized implementation of the method.
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