News from Berlin

German-Namibian Agreement Partnership to Prevent HIV Transmission

May 26th, 2014
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News from Berlin - German-Nigerian cooperation has taken a step forward. On May 19th, a partnership was signed between the two countries to launch an HIV prevention plan. The German Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) are the two main instigators of this plan.

The project is a public-private partnership agreement aiming to finance a health plan to reduce AIDS in Namibia. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), around 220 000 Namibians are living with HIV. Over the past years, the international community’s financial support to the Namibian health sector has been decreasing. The German embassy explained that this reduction spurred the German government “to help Namibia to find new, innovative ways to finance its health sector”.

The German-Namibian agreement aims to provide condoms to remote areas. Indeed, in addition to bringing beer to villages, Namibia Breweries Limited would also provide condoms. The private sector would also collaborate to this program for condoms distribution.  Onno Hückmann, Ambassador of Germany in Namibia, explained that “partnerships between the private and public sectors in response to HIV are still rather uncommon. Therefore, it is important to demonstrate that cooperation initiatives like this one provide a sustainable and effective way to reduce the spread of HIV.” - News from Berlin – Berlin Global