NAMIBIA: Health ministry declares social grants to HIV-positive people illegal

The Namibian government has made a shock announcement disallowing social or disability grants to HIV-positive people.

A local newspaper, The Namibian, reported that the permanent secretary of the health ministry, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, had sent a circular to all senior medical officials informing them that any payment of these grants to people living with HIV/AIDS was illegal.

Shangula stated that the country's Pension Act made no provision for HIV-positive people to receive the grants.

The AIDS Law Unit (ALU) slammed the move, calling it a "short-sighted and disastrous new policy directive".

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[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]