Namibia on Tuesday launched an initiative to encourage and mobilize Namibians from all walks of life to get vaccinated, and to debunk rumours and misinformation that are contributing to vaccination hesitancy.

The initiative dubbed the "Tourism Sector COVID-19 Vaccination Drive in Namibia" was launched in Windhoek by Namibia's Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta.

Shifeta said the main objective of this drive is to foster awareness in the tourism fraternity, among employees and tourism businesses about the importance of COVID-19 vaccination in order to achieve head immunity among the targeted population and its momentous positive role these may create in stimulating tourism and travel demand to the country.

"It is my understanding that commencing the travel and tourism sector, post COVID-19, relies on the success of the COVID-19's robust public health measures, the sectoral health protocols implemented and above all the percentage coverage of the vaccinated target population," he added.

Speaking at the launch, Ben Nangombe, Namibia's Health Ministry executive director, said the private sector, including the tourism sector, are key partners and stakeholders in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Your participation, standing side-by-side with government has helped in so many ways to save lives, and keep the economy afloat," he said, adding that the launch of the initiative comes at the right time to increase uptake and vaccination coverage in the general population.

According to the health ministry, as of January 17, Namibia administered 413,876 first doses of COVID-19 vaccines, translating to 23.3 percent of the target population of 1.7 million. The figure of the vaccine eligible population was adjusted from the initial 1.5 million, with the addition of children 12 years older and a total of 351,690 persons are fully vaccinated.

"These figures are still far behind where we need to be as a country to control the pandemic," he concluded.