The former Nigeria minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has assured the country and other African nations of access to COVID-19 vaccines as from the end of January through the first quarter of next year.
Well, Okonji-Iweala, gave this assurance in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, 9th December by Geoffrey Onyeama, the Ministry of foreign Affairs after a closed-door meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
She was quoted as saying that COVID-19 must be totally eradicated across the world because, “As long as one person has it in the world, no one is safe. And that is why poorer countries, lower middle-income countries like Nigeria, need to get it as quickly as possible.”
The ex-minister of finance, who is as of now the sole candidate for the Office of the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, and also the African Union Special Envoy on mobilising international economic support for the continental fight against COVID-19, stated that the international initiative involved the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), GAVI and the international community, to get vaccines delivered to developing and poorer countries, in an affordable and fast manner.
The ex-minister stated that the Pfizer vaccine and the AstraZeneca were presently being negotiated so that poor countries don’t have to stand in a queue behind rich countries before getting the vaccine that would most likely put an end to the global pandemic.
Speaking further, she revealed that a platform called the COVAX facility had been developed with 186 countries on board, majority of who are interested in serving the poor countries.
In her words...
“So, the Pfizer vaccine, the AstraZeneca, those are being negotiated now so that poor countries don’t have to stand in line behind rich countries.
“So, we hope they are starting by the end of January. We will be able to reach these countries, including most of the African countries, Nigeria included, will be able to get access to some of these vaccines.
“Initially, it will be for frontline health workers, followed by some other target groups – older people, those with underlying conditions and then, from there, the rest of the population. I think the COVAX facility can cover maybe 20-23 per cent of the population by the end of next year.”
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