Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, has guaranteed Nigeria and other African countries accessibility to COVID-19 vaccines as from the end of January through the first quarter of 2021. This was revealed in a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.
The statement said Okonjo-Iweala gave the assurance after a closed-door meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, in Abuja.
“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”, she was quoted as saying.
Okonjo-Iweala is presently the African Union Special Envoy on mobilizing worldwide Economic support for the continental struggle against COVID-19 and Nigeria’s candidate for the office of the Director-General of the World Trade Organization.
She disclosed 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 manner and quickly.
According to her, the Pfizer vaccine and the AstraZeneca were currently being negotiated in order for poor countries would not have to face a queue behind wealthy nations.
The former finance minister described Africans as blessed, for not having the same incidence rate of COVID-19 like other continents, but however warned African nations against complacency.
Okonjo-Iweala recalled that a platform called the COVAX facility had been developed with 186 countries on board, saying that the side interested in serving the poor nations had 92 countries, for which resources have been raised to try and get the vaccines to them quickly.
“The Pfizer vaccine, the AstraZeneca, these are being negotiated now in order that poor nations don’t have to face in line behind wealthy nations.
“So, we hope they’re beginning by the tip of January. We can attain these nations, together with a lot of the African nations, Nigeria included, will be capable to get entry to a few of these vaccines.
“Initially, it will likely be for frontline well being staff, adopted by another goal teams – older folks, these with underlying.