Japan donates over 800,000 doses

As country marks 1 year of first shipment of vaccines

By Joseph Erunke

ABUJA- NIGERIA has so far received 67,973,250 doses of COVID-19 vaccines including 2,100,000 doses out of the Johnson and Johnson vaccines procured by the federal government,the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA,has said.

This came as the country, Wednesday,marked one year of the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines with the most recent shipment received on February 24, 2022.

NPHCDA,in a statement,said,” About 96.9% (65,873,240) doses) of the vaccines received were through the COVAX Facility. 

READ ALSOCOVID-19: Adesina congratulates Buhari on WHO approval for vaccine production in Nigeria

The statement read further:”While more than 47 million doses are in the pipeline from now to the end of the year. The vaccines include AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson donated by GAVI and different countries including United States, United Kingdom, Slovenia, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Spain, Italy, France, Norway, Canada, Germany Ireland, Switzerland, India, and Japan.

“The most recent donation of 859,600 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine by the Government of Japan via the COVAX Facility, was handed over to the Federal Government through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) today 2nd March 2022.

“While receiving the vaccines and Solar Direct Drive Refrigerators, on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib commended the COVAX Facility and the donors for facilitating access to COVID-19 vaccines by low and medium-income countries like Nigeria. 

“And commended the Japanese government, saying, “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”. 

It quoted Dr Shuaib as saying:”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.”

It added:“As part of its commitment to ensure vaccine equity around the world, the Government of Japan is honored to be a part of this global vaccination effort here in Nigeria by providing 859,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines,” said the Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency, Matsunaga Kazuyoshi. In addition to providing vaccines, Japan is donating “175 Solar Direct Drive Refrigerators, to ensure stable delivery of vaccines to vaccination sites, with the necessary temperature controls. These efforts are key to ensure that vaccines get to the people who need them.” 

“These vaccines will help save lives, protect livelihoods, and heal economies currently affected by the pandemic. In our interdependent world, Japan and Nigeria are united, beyond borders. We must work together to ensure we are all protected,” said Ambassador Kazuyoshi. 

“The donation of the COVID-19 vaccines to Nigeria, which began one year ago through the COVAX Facility, has proved to be beneficial as we have witnessed an increase in number of people protected from the severity of the virus. This is yet another example of how the world is working together to defeat COVID-19,” said Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, WHO Representative. 

“Nigeria was amongst the first countries to receive COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX, and just recently launched the SCALES 2.0 strategy to rapidly accelerate vaccine coverage,” said Thabani Maphosa, Managing Director of Country Programmes at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “It is a welcome development that as we mark the one-year anniversary, COVAX, with support from donors, is able to supply Nigeria with the doses it needs to achieve its newly-set vaccination targets.”

Shuaib said:”This donation will enable Nigeria to continue its strong COVID-19 vaccination programme, sustaining the exercise ongoing throughout the country. Vaccines are not the only weapon in our arsenal. Regular testing and observing the tried-and-true public health measures can keep infections from rising within communities.”

Recall that COVAX, which is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health Organization (WHO) working in partnership with UNICEF, is collaborating with countries, including Nigeria to scale up COVID-19 vaccination efforts and achieve greater levels of coverage. 

“To date, COVAX has shipped over 445 million doses to Africa, out of a total 1.2 billion vaccines shipped to 144 countries across the globe,”the agency said.