The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved Namibia's US$270.8 million (N$4 billion) loan, it announced this morning.

This follows the fund's deliberation yesterday, almost 11 months since an application was made last year in May.

The fund said the loan will help the country address urgent balance of payments and fiscal financing needs stemming from the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

These, amongst other things, include the purchasing of vaccines and the rollout of the vaccination campaign, which is needed to mitigate the severe socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, the fund said.