Namibia Program Profile

In 2010, the Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) project implemented a five-year program in Namibia funded by USAID that had three objectives: (1) Support the creation of an enabling environment for public-private partnerships; (2) Strengthen the role of private health providers to finance and provide voluntary medical male circumcision; and (3) Increase commercialization of selected NGOs to promote financial sustainability. This profile presents the goals, components, results, and the following lessons learned from the SHOPS program in Namibia:

• Creating an enabling environment for collaboration is critical to supporting a partnership with the private sector.
• Corporate-NGO pilots in Namibia demonstrate potential for commercializing NGO offerings, but additional investments in technical assistance are needed.
• Mobile clinics offer an important opportunity to expand access to testing, care, and treatment, but targeted demand creation in identified priority regions is necessary.
• Using existing systems and incentives can provide needed private sector data routinely and reliably.
• Working with private sector peer-supported networks provides opportunities to understand doctor-patient relationships and how they impact the demand for HIV services.