WINDHOEK - Namibia has approved an upfront payment of 26.4 million Namibian dollars ($1.7 million) to the COVAX global COVID-19 vaccine distribution scheme, senior health ministry official Ben Nangombe told Xinhua Thursday.

A staff member displays samples of the COVID-19 inactivated vaccine at Sinovac Biotech Ltd., in Beijing, capital of China, March 16, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)

Nangombe said the arid Southwest African nation plans to make the payment next week, which will give it access to coronavirus vaccines for 20 percent of its population.

He said the COVAX facility provides good value for money because other vaccines may require complicated cold chain management systems.

"We would want to get a product that is easy to manage, easy to roll out and easy to administer. Namibia is a vast country, and the vastness of the country is such that you don't have all the sophisticated infrastructure in some parts of the country," he said.

Unlike many other African countries, Namibia does not qualify for subsidized vaccines under the COVAX scheme because it is classified as an upper-middle-income country like its neighbours South Africa and Botswana.

Namibia has reported relatively low COVID-19 cases at just over 14,000 with 147 deaths, but its mining and tourism-dependent economy has been severely impacted by the pandemic.