Nigeria to join five other African countries to produce COVID-19 vaccine
By Muhammad Umar Shehu
President Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed the nomination of Nigeria as one of the six countries in Africa designated as manufacturing base for COVID-19 vaccine.
The president made this known when he spoke yesterday in Brussels, Belgium while contributing to the roundtable discussion on health systems and vaccine production at the ongoing 6th Europe-African summit.
“I am delighted to receive the news of the selection of Nigeria among recipients of MRNA vaccine technology transfer”, President Buhari said.
Adding that, “furthermore, our government will ensure the best use is made of the opportunity.
Buhari also offered to host the bio-manufacturing training hub proposed by World health Organization (WHO).
He also assured Nigerians that his government will commit to providing support to make the hub functional in the shortest possible time.
President Buhari who also called for collaboration to address the effects of the pandemic, commanded the efforts of the foreign partners in marking the covid-19 vaccine available.
The President however, urged them to do more as less than 10 percent of African population had gotten the jab, stressing that the situation could negatively affect Africa’s development.
In another development, the spokesman of the President, Garba Shehu said the addition of Nigeria to the countries earlier approved for the vaccine production on the continent is commendable.
He said that the efforts made by Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to change the selection that the country considered unrepresentative of the needs, capabilities and population distribution in Africa had yielded the desired result.
