The founder of the Gift of Life Foundation, Caroline Engelbrecht, has invited community leaders to work together with other stakeholders in the fight against the use of harmful substances.

Dr Engelbrecht made this call during the Women's Conference at Osona Village, Okahandja.

The founder of the Gift of Life Foundation indicated that young people are exposed to substance abuse, and it's about time that everyone joined the bandwagon for the betterment of society.

"Now we have experience to the extent that this alcohol abuse and drug abuse in the community has led to adolescence being exposed to sexual abuse. Once they have been exposed to sexual abuse, they are likely to be infected with HIV. The challenges that the community faces - no solution was found from the leadership and the country at large. But only when we assimilate ourselves into the community to take them with the government, take hands, and change the situation will we find solutions to that."

She says there is a need to create a safe environment for young people that is free from substance abuse and diseases that could come with it, such as cancer.

Meanwhile, the Director of Primary Health Care (PHC) in the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS), Naemi Shoopala, indicated that Namibia is making progress in the fight against cancer.

"Namibia recorded close to 4,000 new cases of cancer in 2022, and this number is not different every year. Breast and cervical cancer remain the most common cancers among women in Namibia. If you have 100,000 people, you will have 33.3 cases of cancer. That's a high number, and in fact we are among some of the highest incident rates in the world. This incident for Namibia is almost three times the global incident rate.Over 200 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year, and over 500 are diagnosed with breast cancer. Out""

However, Shoopala says, despite these statistics, Namibia is making progress in embracing the global frameworks and guidance in deprivation and control of cancer elimination.