Paediatric cardiologist Dr. Fenny Shidhika is calling on the government to invest more in specialised healthcare and training of highly skilled professionals, to ensure children born with heart defects can access quality care right here in Namibia.

Several children with critical heart conditions have been successfully operated on at Windhoek Central Hospital during a joint cardiac campaign with specialists from the United Kingdom, including procedures performed for the first time in Namibia.

Dr. Shidhika used the occasion to call on government to continue investing in specialised services and training to ensure Namibian children can access high-quality heart care at home.

"I want to appreciate the Ministry of Health and Social Services for the political will it has demonstrated. If it were not for the government, we would not have received the training we have today. My own training was supported by the Ministry many years ago, and many of the other surgeons are also products of that investment. This needs to be acknowledged and emphasised. That goodwill and political will to invest in human capital must continue into the new era. Otherwise, there will be no succession for those of us currently providing these services, and that would be a tragedy."

She further indicated that the scale of the need is significant, requiring substantial resources, highly specialised care and advanced equipment. 

The corporate sector therefore has an important role to play in supporting these services.

"Our heart services have become a flagship programme in the country, and we want to ensure that we continue to deliver the best possible services and high-quality care to the people of Namibia." 

Dr Mohamed Nassar, a congenital cardiac surgeon and part of the specialist team from the United Kingdom, praised the Namibian team for their commitment and dedication, while emphasising that more work is still needed to further strengthen cardiac care in the country.

"I come here because there is great potential. People here are very keen to develop a unit and produce something that can be special - something that is close to what children in other countries are receiving and close to what European children are receiving. There has been progress. We have done  complicated cases. However, there is still a lot of work to be done in the country, as there are deficiencies and it needs political support."