15 years without hot water ends at Windhoek Central Hospital

Windhoek Central Hospital has finally ended a 15-year wait for hot water, with the commissioning of 14 brand-new industrial geysers across the facility.

The long-delayed upgrade, valued at N$6.4 million, was completed by the works in partnership with the health ministry.

The absence of hot water at the hospital had affected patients' hygiene and overall care.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, health minister Esperance Luvindao described the project as more than just a technical upgrade but a restoration of dignity.

“If you go to a hospital, you give birth, your body’s just gone through a life-changing experience, and you go into the bathroom, and it’s ice-cold water. That’s the reality we are changing,” Luvindao said.

She stressed that warm water is not a luxury, but a basic necessity for patients and staff alike.

Luvindao said the project was based on dignity and on changing lives.

“We are not just talking about N$6.4 million. We are talking about lives impacted. We are talking about lives changed. This is the dignity this project is based upon,” she said.

Starting point

Works minister Veikko Nekundi said the project took seven months to complete.

“This project was undertaken and sincerely delivered for N$6.4 million by Engineering Corporation and Parks Namibia, a 100% Namibian enterprise,” Nekundi said.

He said the upgrade included installing modern digital control systems across all hospital floors, a full refurbishment of the maternity ward’s hot water system, and replacing old, rusted galvanised pipes with durable, corrosion-resistant piping.

Nekundi added that electrical distribution boards were upgraded, and every corner of the hospital, from theatres and kitchens to wards, now has reliable hot water.

According to Nekundi, the contractor will maintain the installed systems for the next 12 months, while the hospital’s in-house team handles minor repairs.

“We must be committed to sustaining what we have built. Reliable infrastructure is the backbone of health care services. When hospitals are well-equipped and well-maintained, our health care workers can focus on what matters most: the people in their care, the patients,” he said.

Both ministers framed the project as a starting point in a wider national effort to improve hospital infrastructure. Luvindao acknowledged that many other facilities across Namibia face similar challenges and promised expansion beyond Windhoek. “Commissioning this restored hot water system is the beginning; it is not the end. We are aware that many more facilities need the same,” she said.