A/HRC/24/41/Add.1 services. In many places, the great distances between San communities and health facilities cause San people to rely heavily on mobile outreach units, which reportedly do not maintain a regular visitation schedule and are poorly equipped and understaffed. 71. Undoubtedly, stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes towards marginalized indigenous peoples figure into the poor health of members of their communities. Throughout the mission, San and Himba community members repeatedly informed the Special Rapporteur that health workers treated them poorly, and Himba representatives added that health workers did not want to touch them if they were dressed in their traditional clothing. A reported dearth of health-care professionals who speak or understand local indigenous languages also frustrates basic services delivery and can result in improper diagnosis. San community members expressed to the Special Rapporteur a strong desire to have access to educational opportunities that would prepare them for professional healthcare positions to help close the health service gap resulting from cultural disconnects. 72. The National Policy on Community Based Health Care of 2008 has the potential to mitigate discrimination issues in health care.25 The policy, developed by the Ministry of Health and Social Services, seeks to empower and strengthen community-based responses to support health through preventative measures and palliative care 26 primarily in rural settings.27 A key component of the policy involves the delivery of health services through community resource persons, including traditional healers and traditional birth attendants, who can provide insight into the cultural context in which health services are being provided. The National Policy on HIV/AIDS of 2007 similarly calls for traditional, cultural and spiritual leaders to be involved in organizing community responses to HIV/AIDS, and acknowledges that delivering health care to San and Himba peoples can be complicated by cultural issues such as language and the distance to many of their communities. 73. The precarious land situation of San people in Namibia also affects their health. Specifically, insecure land tenure and restrictions on hunting and gathering traditional foods interferes with the San peoples’ ability to rely on their traditional food sources and results in many San relying on government food aid as a principle means of substance. However, food aid is often unreliable and insufficient, leading to situations of persistent hunger among San communities, which compromises their immune systems and their ability to resist disease. V. Conclusions and recommendations Overarching issues 74. Indigenous peoples in Namibia have suffered injustices in the past that leave them disadvantaged, to varying degrees, in the present. Since the independence of Namibia in 1990, the Government has made many significant achievements in rolling back some of the destructive legacies left by colonialism and apartheid. However, certain indigenous peoples—including the San, Himba, Ovazemba, Ovatue and Ovatjimba people—are disadvantaged relative to other groups in the country and have not seen the promises and benefits brought by independence fulfilled for them. 75. Namibia is a country rich with diverse indigenous cultural and ethnic identities, including those of indigenous peoples who have suffered marginalization in various aspects of life. However, overall, the Special Rapporteur observes a lack of coherent 25 26 27 18 See the Office of the Ombudsman, Guide to Indigenous Peoples’ Rights (2012), p. 32. Namibia, National Policy on Community Based Health Care, p. 11. Ibid., p. 9.