WHO Namibia May 2023 Staff Retreat Report

WHO Namibia Staff Retreat Report 2023 23-25 May 2023 Seaside Hotel, Swakopmund

Table of Content

• Introduction - 2 • Aims and Objectives - 3 • Welcome Remarks - 4 • Presentation by the Staff Association - 5 • Communication: My role in making WHO a preferred partner in public health - 6 • Prevention and Response of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment - 6 • R ole Playing the WHO Representative - 7 • Ted Talk: Motivational - 7 • Presentation by the WR - 8 • 75th Anniversary Workplan - 9 • O perations - 10 • Boat Ride - 11 • Farewell Dinner - 12 • R ecommendations - 13

Introduction The WHO Namibia, under the leadership of the Twenty-eight (28) staff Representative, Dr Charles members attended the retreat Sagoe-Moses, held a 4-day with the breakdown as (i) The staff retreat at the Seaside WHO Representative (ii) Hotel in Swakopmund from Technical Staff – 16, of these 9 22-25 May 2023. The were special service retreat was also an agreements (SSA) and 2 opportunity for WHO staff United Nations Volunteers to show appreciation to the (UNVs) (iii) General Staff Representative and bid him (admin & drivers) - 12. Mrs farewell before his Celia Kaunatjike, was the reassignment to the overall rapporteur supported Tanzania country office.

by Ms Rosalia Nairenge, Mrs Melizia Goagoses, Dr Florence Soroses and Ms Rauha Jacob.

Methodology The method of work used during the retreat included group discussions and presentations, role plays, informal interactions, and recreational activities.

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Overall Aim: The 2023 Staff Retreat was an extension of the mini staff retreat held in 2022 and aimed to strengthen teamwork through a working environment that enables all staff to feel appreciated, motivated, accepted, included, trusted, accountable and free to express themselves while implementing the overall goals of the General Program of Work.

Objectives: • S trengthen the team spirit and well-being of WCO staff and build consensus on Staff Association issues • R eview the implementation of previous recommendations and recommend new ones with the aim of improving overall office performance • Create a safe space to discuss prevention of sexual misconduct using scenario based participatory methods • Increase staff members level of knowledge related to WHO visibility and branding guidelines

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Welcome Remarks WHO Representative to Namibia, Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses, welcomed all staff to the 2023 staff retreat. Although, this would be his last retreat with the Namibia country office, he expressed confidence in the team he is leaving behind noting the strength of the team and the ability to meet demands demonstrated especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said that the ‘purpose of the retreat is to get better, to do what we can’t do in the office, to connect with people you don’t normally talk to and get to know each other’. He further narrated the aims and objectives of the retreat and encouraged all to participate actively.

He said that staff are expected to show commitment, understand their role within the team and make the team better and stronger to implement and deliver the mandate of the organization.

Dr Charles announced and congratulated Dr Mary Brantuo as the O fficer-in-Charge (OIC). He said that she is well respected and known by the government, United Nations Country Team (UNCT) and the Regional Office for Africa (AFRO).

Dr Sagoe-Moses concluded with his popular quote ‘’Take care of yourself every time, work will continue even if you are no more.’’

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Presentation by the Staff Association Ms Rosalina De Wee, WHO Staff Association chairperson shared the aims and objectives of the staff association and its constitution.

All staff members were reminded to pay their dues and birthday contributions. The monthly contribution are NAD 100 and are proposed to increase to either NAD 150 or NAD 250. The birthday celebrations are also a monthly contribution of NAD 30.00. Other voluntary contributions to the staff association were encouraged.

The chair further shared on the benefits to those who are up to date with their monthly contributions which include monetary contributions towards births, weddings, obtaining a qualification and loans at 5% interest rate.

Other key issues to note were: • The hosting of the UN Africa games by Namibia in September in Swakopmund, • The election of NAM-FUNSA in preparation for the UN games • WCO to continue with the Friday happy hour as need arise • Staff including SSA encouraged to open an account with UNFCU • AFRO has a solidarity fund and Mrs Naanda will share the details with all staff • Friday morning walks to be revived

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Communication: My role in making WHO a preferred partner in public health This session was presented by Mrs Celia Kaunatjike, WHO Health Promotion and Social Determinants Officer. The aim was to foster awareness on the representation of WHO by all staff during official and private engagement and the importance of preserving the WHO brand.

She facilitated a discussion on WHO as a brand, what the organization stands for, what its vision, mission and core values are. Most staff members could not articulate WHO’s vision, mission, and core values accurately and the session served as a learning experience.

Furthermore, the discussion focused on how WHO staff represent the organization through partnership, visibility, media, technical assistance, advocacy, articles as well as carrying oneself in accordance with the organization’s values.

The presentation also focused on the importance of media engagement to promote the work of the organization. She further shared on how to communicate with the media to maximize impact. She presented the 7 Cs of public health communication to emphasize the need to communicate clearly with the audience.

She concluded her presentation with the visual representation of the WHO logo and shared guidelines from the WHO e-manual.

Prevention and Response of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment The session was facilitated by Mrs Irma Naanda, the alternate PRSEAH focal person supported by Mrs Kaunatjike, the WCO PRSEAH focal person. The aim of the session was to discuss practical scenarios in a safe space that may put staff at risk of violating the sexual misconduct policy. The team was divided in three groups and each group discussed a different scenario related to possible romantic relations: • staff at the same level with no supervisory relation fall in love, • A WHO staff falls in-love with a staff from government, • Supervisor has feelings for his/her subordinate.

These were discussed in an open and honest manner appraising it against the WHO Policy on Sexual Misconduct and what would be the most appropriate behavior to minimize risk of violating the WHO Policy.

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Role Playing the WHO Representative This session was planned to surprise the outgoing WR. It was a role play of the weekly staff meeting and one of the staff members, Mr Nashipili acted as the WR bidding farewell to staff during the staff meeting and asking all to say a few words. The staff then used this opportunity to express their gratitude to Dr Sagoe-Moses for this contribution to the WHO Namibia and his service to the Namibian Nation.

Ted Talk: Motivational The session was facilitated by Ms Deborah Ndjerareou, WHO External Relations and Partnership Officer. She started the session with a Ted Talk motivational video and followed this with a very engaging discussion that focuses on setting and achieving personal and professional goals. The session was appreciated by all and concluded with all staff drafting their personal goals for the next 5-years.

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Presentation by the WR Dr Sagoe-Moses took staff through an emotional session where he shared messages that staff wrote to him during a team building session 5 years ago. He handed each team member these personal messages back to them and each read it out loud to him.

He then asked staff if they felt the same way about the team and the office. He narrated his journey with the Namibia country team and made references to some personal encounters with some of the team members.

He reiterated that the Namibia team is a strong team and that he believes that from this team are future WRs, international staff and that the consultants will become staff of the WHO. He concluded by saying that he will be waiting for calls from different team members as they make progress in their careers and he will applaud them by saying ‘Yes, we did!’.

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75th Anniversary Workplan Mrs Kaunatjike presented the 75th anniversary report and workplan on behalf of the committee. She shared on key achievements which included: • The launch of the anniversary on 6 April as part of the World Health Day Commemoration • The drafting of the anniversary key milestone booklet which included messages from His Excellency, the Prime Minister, Minister of Health, and a physician specialist.

• Statement by the Head of State • Anniversary notebook and other promotional items including banners, hats, pens, t-shirts, water bottles, mugs, shakers, and lanyards • Production of the anniversary video and airing on NBC TV for 6 months • Newspaper placement of the anniversary ad for 4 months Mrs Kaunatjike shared on additional activities which included the announcement of Miss Namibia 2022 as the Anniversary Champion, social welfare event and the hosting of model UN. All staff were encouraged to engage Miss Namibia in their public event.

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Operations The operations team under the leadership of the Operations Officer, Ms Mary Ikosa shared on several policies and facilitated discussions to clarify questions and concerns. The policies included: • Flexible working arrangements • Performance appraisals • Staff health insurance • IT These were going to be shared electronically with all staff as reminders.

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The team went on a boat ride as part of team building.

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Farewell Dinner

A farewell dinner was held in honor of Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses. Staff members wore colorful traditional attires and continued to express their gratitude to him. The dinner was concluded with a special dance by the guest of honor, and all joined him on the dance floor.

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Recommendations

Recommendations from the mini staff retreat held in November 2022 were reviewed. There were minor changes, but most recommendations were retained.

For details on the recommendations, kindly refer to the November 2022 Staff Retreat Report

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WHO Namibia UN House, 2nd Floor Stein Street 38 Klein Windhoek P.O. Box 3444, Windhoek Namibia Tel: + 264 61 255 121/191