The Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Utjiua Muinjangue, says Namibia's coronavirus journey has been a difficult one, worsened by logistical challenges such as inadequate human and material resources.

Muinjangue made the remarks during a handover ceremony of vaccination equipment from Project Hope Namibia to the Ministry of Health.

Handing over the equipment, Project HOPE Namibia Country Director, Rosalia Indongo, said the aim was to bring Namibia's COVID-19 vaccination level to 70% or above.

The equipment that will be distributed to mobile vaccination teams in seven regions includes 40 tables, 130 chairs, 25 patient screens, 11 patient benches, 35 plastic containers, 10 laptops, and 25 tablets.

Dr. Muinjangue said the donation will contribute immensely to the healthcare service delivery by the vaccination teams.

"The donation will go a long way toward contributing immensely to healthcare service delivery by the vaccination teams as well as timely data capture and reporting of the COVID-19 vaccination data. The importance of data cannot be overemphasized, as it helps inform evidence-based planning. We'll also make sure that this equipment is really used for the purpose for which it was bought because we don't want it to gather dust. We want everybody when you go to the field that you can see that it is being put to good use."

Project HOPE Namibia, through its Saving Lives and Livelihoods Initiative, has allocated more than N$27 million over a period of three years to cater to a variety of vaccination-related activities.

"Human resources are part of this funding. We are expected to ensure that vaccination sites are not limited to health facilities but also reach out to rural areas via outreach services. We are supposed to make sure that for the fixed sites, they have what they need to do their job, for example, making sure where prep is needed, we make that provision," Indongo explained.