Cut out the ‘middleman’, govt told … questions over Covid-19 vaccine tender
2021-03-15
A decision by the health ministry to rope in the middlemen in the procurement of the sought-after Covid-19 vaccines has been met with criticism.
Last week, the ministry, through its Central Medical Store, advertised a tender for pharmaceutical companies who have valid manufacturing or trading licences in Namibia to procure, supply and deliver one million doses of Covid-19 vaccines.
Government intends on spending N$583 million on the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out plan, of which N$484 million would be utilised on the procurement of the doses.
However, the decision to bring in the middlemen, instead of engaging manufacturers directly, in the vaccine acquisition and distribution process, has been heavily criticised by the public – and among others, the People’s Litigation Centre (PLC).
Namibia readies for COVID-19 vaccine roll-out
The country is expected to receive enough doses of the vaccine as part of the program to immunize 60% of the population.
The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula while addressing Parliament said that the ministry has received a letter from the Covax Facility stating that Namibia can expect to be distributed doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine within the next two weeks.
The minister said Namibia has made a significant financial commitment to purchase doses sufficient to vaccinate 20% of the target population through the Covax Facility.
“We have put in place mechanisms to ensure country readiness to roll out the Covid-19 vaccines and established a Vaccine Taskforce and developed the National Covid-19 Deployment and Vaccination Plan. The Task Force continues to review the latest evidence, training needs of our health workers and all regulatory, legal, and safety frameworks to ensure a high-q