WINDHOEK, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Namibia has spent 441 million Namibian dollars (29 million U.S. dollars) in procuring COVID-19 vaccines, a government official has said.

The sum is part of 583 million Namibia dollars budgeted under the national COVID-19 Deployment and Vaccination Plan, Ben Nangombe, executive director in the Ministry of Health and Social Services, said on Thursday.

"These include the acquisition of the vaccines, which will be dispatched to the health facilities across the country through existing structures, facilities and personnel," he said.

The country's first batch of COVID-19 vaccines is expected to arrive in mid-March.

The government has set a target of vaccinating 60 percent to 80 percent of Namibia's total population of 2.5 million.

Namibia is to receive Johnson and Johnson, AstraZeneca and other vaccines through the global vaccine sharing scheme COVAX; it will also get vaccines donated by China.

The government is engaging the private sector to support vaccination efforts in offsetting costs related to dispatching vaccines to health facilities across the country, Nangombe said.

So far, Namibia has reported 40,631 confirmed cases, with 38,104 recoveries and 450 deaths related to the pandemic. Enditem

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