Namibia is under the spotlight this month as it resumes public hearings on abortion on 16 January. This follows the hearings which took place late last year, and will hopefully play an important role in the liberalization of abortion laws in the country.  The current laws regulating abortion are no longer fit for purpose – not least because the Abortion and Sterilisation Act of 1975 was adopted under apartheid South African rule and has since been repealed in South Africa. The Act currently permits abortion only in very limited circumstances, and imposes criminal penalties on women who obtain and those who perform abortions outside of this limited scope. Those who can afford it are forced to travel to South Africa for abortion care, but this option is out of reach for many women. The law, therefore, impacts far more heavily on poor and black women, perpetuating the cycle of poverty and reinforcing injustices.  In 2020, 62,000 Namibians signed a petition calling for the liberalization of abortion laws, so there is certainly public backing for progress. The upcoming hearings are a key opportunity to make positive changes in the lives of all women, regardless of religious beliefs, age, race, and socioeconomic status.

The IPPF Africa region is concerned by the Namibian High Court ruling on the application of non-Namibian same-sex spouses to live and work in the country. It is the latest legal battle to push for equal rights in the country. According to the High Court’s judge, Hannelie Prinsloo, the legal decision was based on an outdated law preventing the LGBTI+ community from enjoying equal human rights across the country. IPPFAR strongly encourages African Governments to review and adapt outdated laws to reflect today’s societal realities ensuring the full enjoyment of human rights for all.

Mr. Sam Ntelamo, the Resident Representative of IPPF’s Liaison Office to the African Union was recently in Namibia where he participated in successful discussions with some of the country’s leaders. Mr. Ntelamo met with the Deputy Prime Minister of Namibia HE Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, where he shared IPPF’s work in the Africa region, and more so that of its’ Liaison Office to the AU. IPPF’s Liaison Office to the African Union (AULO) provides opportunities for enhanced visibility of the organization and its contribution to Africa’s development. It also plays a networking role with various stakeholders in the Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) field, and also engages in related advocacy activities. In addition, the Liaison Office serves as a machinery that gathers intelligences on policy issues that touch on SRHR, monitoring and ultimately contributing towards policy development at the AU level. In his discussions with HE Nandi-Ndaitwah, Mr. Ntelamo expressed gratitude towards the Namibian government’s support to the revised Maputo Plan of Action 2016 – 2030  (MPoA), in which IPPF played a key role in its review. The revised MPoA (adopted at the 27th African Union Summit in July2016 in Kigali) is Africa’s flagship policy framework for universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services. The Plan builds a momentum to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) -especially goals 3 and 5. Discussions between HE Nandi-Ndaitwah and Mr. Ntelamo prioritized the need for the domestication of regional and global SRHR policies, including MPoA, SDGs and other campaigns such as the ‘AU End Child Marriage’. Mr. Ntelamo also had the opportunity to meet with Namibia’s Deputy Minister of Planning Hon. Lucia Lipumbu, where similar discussions regarding support for SRHR and implementation of related policies were held. In a separate meeting with the country’s Director of Parliament Mr. Tijpa Tijera, Mr. Ntelamo solicited support for the Africa Parliamentarians project which the Liaison Office coordinates in Addis Ababa. The forum provided an opportunity for Mr. Ntelamo to share information about the upcoming Parliamentarians General Assembly holding slated to take place in Dakar, Senegal in November 2016.