Free and compulsory education, pride of the nation
Since the 1990s, the government has invested heavily in the education system, especially 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, however. The literacy rate is estimated at over 90 percent, a record for a sub-Saharan country and an unprecedented result for this young country, especially since the vast majority were not literate before independence. Some 1,500 elementary school cover the country, including in remote rural areas. However, secondary schools and high schools are found only in the regional capitals. Classes are taught mainly in English, with some indigenous languages occasionally used. The University of Namibia, which has been based in Windhoek since independence, has eleven branch campuses throughout the country.
The community, the real family of Namibians
Ethnicity remains quite important, despite government efforts to promote nationhood and citizenship. Namibians are linked first to their community and then to the nation. 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 favour one community over another in order to establish its dominance. Today, the friction has more or less disappeared and the communities coexist peacefully. Solidarity and loyalty between individuals within a community are still very strong, even if the mixing favored by urbanization is starting to change mentalities. The young people of Windhoek and Swakopmund, who are keen on social networks and urban music, feel less and less connected to their community families, and it is on them that the new Namibian identity is based.
The place of women, a model of parity despite the challenges
Thanks to a strong political will to facilitate women's access to leadership, Namibia is now a country where almost half of the members of parliament are women, placing it at the top of the world rankings with the Scandinavian countries and ahead of France. The appointment of Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has also resulted in the appointment of women to other key positions in the government. This policy, known as the "zebra system," whose black and white stripes symbolize gender parity, was much needed in a country where many Namibian women face violence from their partners and society. Indeed, these laudable advances from a political point of view should not mask the constraints that remain in a society where patriarchal traditions and evangelical Christian communities are very active and hinder a number of developments - as demonstrated by viral campaigns on social networks against any legalization of abortion.
Townships, legacy of apartheid
As a result of several years of occupation by South Africa, the vast majority of Namibians live in shanty towns called townships, where the small middle classes and the country's poorest people mix. Like Soweto near Johannesburg, Katutura has grown like a mushroom north of Windhoek and is home to up to 200,000 people. It is easy to visit these neighborhoods, although it is highly recommended to be accompanied by a trusted local person in order not to get lost in these alleys. One is often surprised by the animation which reigns there and which offers a face very different from the postcard Namibia. Don't be surprised if people stare at you or invite you for a drink. Although since independence, Namibians are free to settle wherever they want, 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 park the whole black population of the country.
AIDS, a scourge gradually controlled
Like its southern African neighbors, Namibia is severely affected by the AIDS epidemic. The prevalence rate is around 12% in 2020 (220,000 people living with HIV). This rate, among the highest in the world, is explained by a late response to the scourge. Long ignored, it is only in the last few years that the country has really started to campaign against the virus. The fight against alcoholism has also become one of the central issues, as it encourages risky behaviors responsible for the transmission of the virus. But the main challenge remains to inform Namibians about the means of contamination, to generalize prevention, the use of condoms and to increase the number of tests. However, testing is difficult to reach certain rural populations, and the exclusion of people living with HIV often discourages many from taking the test. Only a quarter of the population is reported to have been tested. Kavango and Zambezi are particularly affected. In these regions, nearly 40 percent of the population is a carrier and more than 20 percent of young people under 19 are orphaned by parents killed by the virus. Since 2016, Namibia has participated in the U.S. telemedicine and video conferencing program called Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), which allows virtual contact between doctors and nurses in Namibia with health experts in the United States. The goal is to inform, train and support health care workers in managing the care of HIV-positive patients in the country. This initiative would have led to better detection of HIV-positive cases and better management of infected patients. Today, about 92% of people living with HIV in Namibia know they are HIV positive. Of these, more than 91% are on treatment. These figures are encouraging and give hope that the epidemic can be fully controlled.
