Nurse of the nation
Former Namibian First Lady Penehupifo Pohamba has passed away at the age of 78. She is remembered for her significant contributions to nursing, midwifery, and advocacy for HIV-AIDS programs and maternal health.
Why it matters
Her death marks the loss of a prominent public figure who played a key role in Namibia's healthcare and social development sectors.
Penehupifo Pohamba remembered for championing HIV-AIDS programmes and shelters for expecting mothers
Former first lady Penehupifo Pohamba, who died on Saturday, will be remembered as a nurse and midwife who used her position to advocate for better maternal and child healthcare and a stronger response to HIV-AIDS.
Affectionately known as ‘Mee Pohamba’, or ‘Penny’, Penehupifo was a midwife, a liberation-era health worker and a champion for women and children whose public life extended well beyond her role as first lady.
She died in a Windhoek hospital at the age of 78 on Saturday.
She is survived by her husband, Hifikepunye, five children and grandchildren. Born at Okatale in the Ohangwena region, she attended school at Odibo’s St Mary Mission School.
Penehupifo went into exile in 1976, travelling through Angola to Zambia before being sent to Tanzania for medical training.
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