The Ministry of Health and Social Services, on 05 November 2025, joined the global community in commemorating International Prosthetics and Orthotics Day. Prosthetics and orthotics are vital services within Physical Rehabilitation Services, aimed at enhancing quality of life by restoring mobility, function, and independence for those with physical impairments, ensuring no one is left behind.
Prosthetics focuses on replacing lost or missing body parts, commonly limbs, while orthotics provides assistive devices to support, align, replace lost functions, or correct body parts affected by injury or illness. Both fields employ biomedical engineering and clinical rehabilitation to manage conditions from amputations to neuromusculoskeletal disorders, helping patients return to daily life whether at work, school, or sports relieve pain, and improve physical and psychological well-being. These products form part of a broad rehabilitation and assistive technology spectrum.
Rehabilitation and assistive technology services go beyond healthcare essentials; they transform lives by improving health, function, and reducing disability. They empower individuals to adapt, manage their conditions, stay active, and foster independence and resilience.
The Namibian government provides these services free of charge at Windhoek referral hospital, Oshakati and Rundu intermediate hospitals, with minimal services at four district hospitals due to limited equipment and specialists. The Ministry is committed to nationwide service availability following the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) policy launched on 13 October 2025. Decentralizing services will reduce long wait times and travel burdens. Recognizing growing unmet rehabilitation needs, the Ministry is taking deliberate action to address the gap.
Together, Namibia strives to ensure all citizens and visitors access necessary rehabilitation for healthy, active, and fulfilling lives embodying the true spirit of Universal Health Coverage.
