FG receives over 850,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from Japan

FG receives over 850,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from Japan

NEWS DIGEST – The Federal Government has taken delivery of 859,600 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines and 175 solar direct drive refrigerators donated by the Government of Japan.

It stressed that the donation will further strengthen the country’s vaccination coverage, even as over 17 million eligible populations have received their first dose of COVID-19 Vaccines

Speaking during the official handover of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines and solar direct drive refrigerators, the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, said: “I am pleased to welcome and inform you that the Government of Japan through the COVAX facility has donated 859,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and 175 Solar Direct drive Refrigerators to aid COVID-19 response in Nigeria. Today, as we mark the one year anniversary of the first COVID-19 vaccine delivery to Nigeria, we are here to officially receive these donations to Nigeria from Japan.

“On behalf of the Federal Government and people of Nigeria, I want to sincerely appreciate the Government and people of Japan for this support to Nigeria at the time it is most needed. The donation of 859,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines bolsters the global effort to defeat the coronavirus pandemic and demonstrates the ongoing commitment of the global community to ensuring Nigeria receives the vaccines it needs.

“We are particularly happy about the Solar Direct Drive (SDD) Refrigerators because of their advantages in independent and uninterrupted power source for vaccine storage. We have since deployed the SDDs to 24 states of the federation based on vaccine coverage, equity and making sure we reach the last mile.

“Nigeria has continued to push through these odds, and today, we have successfully vaccinated 17,914,944 eligible persons with the first dose and this represents 16 per cent of the eligible population targeted for vaccination in Nigeria.

“We are continuing to work with stakeholders, partners and communities to ensure an inclusive campaign that stems on the transparency and accountability principles of the Federal Government. We have optimized our service delivery, communication, accountability, logistics, electronic management of immunization data (EMID) and supervision to ramp up vaccine uptake in Nigeria.

“This new strategy, conceptualized as Optimized SCALES was officially flagged off last week here in Abuja, and entails the integration of COVID-19 vaccination with childhood routine immunization. It is a great opportunity to receive with ease childhood vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines in any of our COVID-19 mass vaccination sites.

“We have also rolled out Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Nigeria, and all states have already commenced its utilization. This is a single dose vaccine, which once taken, you are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Also, the availability of the AstraZeneca vaccines donated by the Japanese Government helps a long way in making available doses of the vaccines for those who are yet to take their second doses.”

The Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Matsunaga Kazuyoshi, said: “The rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has reminded us of the importance of supporting the global fight against COVID-19 in developing countries, including Africa. It is very important to know that no one is safe until everyone is safe.

“To support the fight against COVID-19, the Japanese Prime Minister announced that 10 million vaccines will be provided for Africa through COVAX. We are providing nearly 860,000 doses of AstraZeneca to Nigeria. This is the first Japanese vaccine to arrive in Sub-Saharan Africa. Eradicating vaccine hesitancy and increasing vaccination coverage is the key to winning the fight against COVID-19.

“In addition to providing vaccines, Japan is also providing 175 Solar Direct Drive Refrigerators at $2.5 million This project will act as a boost to the vaccination strategy of the government of Nigeria. We want to ensure that Nigeria achieves herd immunity in no distant time.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) Country Representative, Dr Walter Mulombo, said: “Today marks the one year anniversary since the first COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Nigeria. This donation by the Government of Jan will help Nigeria achieve its target of vaccinating 70 per cent of the eligible population by June this year. Let me emphasise that COVID-19 is not yet over. We have seen that every four to five months, a new variant is emerging, and taking advantage of unimmunised populations. We need to stop that cycle. One of the tools we have at our disposal is COVID-19 vaccination is the way to overcome it.

“Let me congratulate the Executive Director of the NPHCDA on the upscaling of the vaccination programme with the upscaling of the optimised S.C.A.L.E strategy. We must continue to improve the number of daily vaccinations. We need to partner more with Japan, not only for COVID-19 vaccines but for primary health care (PHC) revitalisation. We also need to stop the spread of misinformation.”

The UNICEF Country Representative, Peter Hawkins, who was represented by the Chief of Staff of the Agency, Dr Eduardo Celedes, added: “The COVID-19 pandemic has affected millions around the world including Nigeria. We are here today because two actors decided to act – the NPHCDA and the Government of Japan. We are seeing that now we are vaccinating more than 200,000 people per day. We are seeing how the equipment and cold chain of the country has improved massively over the last year, and how the vaccines are delivered to the arms of the people that need them.

“NPHCDA has been remarkable over the last year and half. The donation that we are receiving today is an indication of the Government of Japan to act. The donations today will make a difference at the Federal and State level in terms of the capacity to administer and store the vaccines.

“More than 60 million vaccines have arrived in the country through COVAX in the last year. Also, more than 25 million doses of vaccines have been delivered to the arms of the people. With all these efforts from the Government and partners, we will be able to end COVID-19 in Nigeria.”