Free and compulsory education, pride of the nation
Since the 1990s, the government has invested heavily in the education system, particularly in elementary school where, since 2013, education has been free and compulsory from age 6 to 16. These measures, which account for 20% of the national budget and are described as strategic, have enabled 98% of children to attend primary school - the rate drops to 57% for secondary school. Literacy levels are estimated at over 90%, a record for a sub-Saharan country and an unprecedented result for this young country, especially as the vast majority were not literate before independence. Some 1,500 elementary school cover the entire country, including remote rural areas. However, secondary schools and high schools are found only in the regional capitals. Classes are taught mainly in English, with the occasional indigenous language. The University of Namibia, which has been based in Windhoek since independence, has eleven branch campuses across the country.
The community, the real family of Namibians
Ethnicity remains quite important, despite the government's efforts to promote nationhood and citizenship. Namibians are linked first to their community and then to the nation. It has to be said that the Germans and South Africans played a major role in dividing the communities. During apartheid, mixing between communities was forbidden and geographical separation, even in the townships, was the rule. Pretoria did not hesitate to favor one community over another in order to establish its dominance. Today, friction has more or less disappeared and communities coexist peacefully. Solidarity and loyalty between individuals within a community remain very strong, even if the mixing encouraged by urbanization is beginning to change mentalities. Keen on social networking and urban music, young people in Windhoek and Swakopmund feel less and less tied to their community families, and it's on them that the new Namibian identity rests.
The place of women, a model of parity despite the challenges
Thanks to a strong political will to facilitate women's access to positions of responsibility, Namibia is now a country where almost half the members of parliament are women, placing it at the top of the world rankings alongside the Scandinavian countries and ahead of France. The appointment of Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has also seen the arrival of women in other key positions in the state apparatus. This policy, known as the "zebra system" whose black and white stripes symbolize parity between men and women, was much needed in a country where many Namibian women suffer violence at the hands of their partners and society. Indeed, these laudable advances from a political point of view must not mask the constraints that remain, in a society where patriarchal traditions and evangelical Christian communities are very active and put the brakes on a number of developments - as demonstrated by viral campaigns on social networks against any legalization of abortion.
Townships, legacy of apartheid
The result of years of occupation by South Africa, the vast majority of Namibians live in shantytowns called townships, where the lower middle classes mix with the country's poorest populations. Like Soweto near Johannesburg, Katutura has mushroomed north of Windhoek and is home to up to 200,000 people. It's easy to visit these neighborhoods, although it's highly recommended to be accompanied by a trusted local to avoid getting lost in the narrow streets. You'll often be surprised by the lively atmosphere, which is very different from the picture-postcard Namibia. Don't be surprised if people stare at you or invite you in for a drink. Although, since independence, Namibians have been free to settle wherever they wish, many of them do not have the economic means to leave these districts, built in the middle of the last century by the Pretoria authorities to house the country's entire black population.
AIDS, a scourge gradually controlled
Like its southern African neighbors, Namibia is severely affected by the AIDS epidemic. The prevalence rate was around 12% in 2020 (220,000 people living with HIV). This rate, one of the highest in the world, can be explained by a delayed reaction to the scourge. Long ignored, it's only in recent years that the country has really taken up the fight against the virus. The fight against alcoholism has also become one of the central issues, as it encourages the risky behaviours responsible for transmission of the virus. But the main challenge remains to inform Namibians about the means of contamination, to generalize prevention and condom use, and at the same time to increase the number of screening tests. However, these tests have difficulty in reaching certain rural populations, and the exclusion to which people with HIV are often subjected has the effect of dissuading many from taking the test. Only a quarter of the population have been tested. Kavango and Zambezi are particularly hard hit. In these regions, almost 40% of the population are carriers, and more than 20% of young people under 19 are orphaned by parents killed by the virus. Since 2016, Namibia has been participating in the US telemedicine and video teleconferencing program entitled Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), which enables virtual contact between doctors and nurses in Namibia with healthcare experts in the United States. The aim is to inform and train healthcare personnel, and provide them with the support they need to manage the care given to HIV-positive patients in the country. This initiative would have led to better detection of HIV-positive cases and better care for infected patients. Today, around 92% of people affected by HIV in Namibia know they are HIV-positive. Of these, over 91% are on treatment. These encouraging figures give us hope that the epidemic can be brought under control.
