Annual Report - University of Namibia

Dr Sam S. NujomaFounding President of the Republic of NamibiaThe Government of the Republicof Namibia has – like most others indeveloping countries – set developmenttargets. While some of these are drawnfrom global development targets suchas the Millennium Development Goals,others are specifi c to each country. Onesuch is Namibia’s Vision 2030. The role ofhuman resources in development is wellestablished and appreciated all over theworld. Without a well-trained workforce,many national development plans wouldremain pies in the sky.establishment ofNamibia’s fi rst everSchool of Medicine,which we areoptimistic, will go along way towardsenabling Governmentto provide health services to all Namibians.The establishment of the School ofMedicine necessitated the formation ofthe Faculty of Health Sciences, which alsohouses the School of Nursing and PublicHealth.The University of Namibia is cognizant ofthis fact and during the year under review itcontinued to work towards the productionof the best human resources throughplanning globally while acting locally andwithin the Namibian context. Through thisstrategy, the University ensured that itsgraduates become not only competitivelocally but internationally as well.It is this thinking that led to theestablishment of the Faculty of Engineeringand Information Technology, which wasinaugurated in 2009 in Ongwediva. Initiallythe Engineering Faculty was shunned bysome sections of our urban-based societyon account of its location in a formerlyneglected part of the country. However,its location has ushered in the spirit ofdecentralisation and taking developmentto the people.The year under review also saw theEminent Kenyan Physician, Prof PeterNyarango has been appointed FoundingDean of the Faculty of Health Sciences.He brings on board years of experience,having made immense contributions tothe fi eld of medicine. He was one of theleading fi gures in setting up Eritrea’s fi rstSchool of Medicine. The UNAM Schoolof Medicine has been enthusiasticallyreceived by stakeholders. That UNAMreceived nearly 800 applications fromaspiring trainee doctors is testimony of theschool’s popularity. The School recruited anumber of teaching staff from as far afi eldas Ghana, Tanzania, the United Statesof America and South Africa. More areexpected to join the school in 2010.The girl child remains largely marginalisedin some developing countriesnotwithstanding protocols that have beendeveloped and ratifi ed. This is howevernot the case at tertiary level in Namibia.Annual Report 2009 -ix-