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Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has announced that Nigeria will join the urgent global call for a popular vaccine to COVID-19-19. The president supported the initiative and issued an official public statement in favor of the campaign.
“Learn from the painful lessons of a history of unequal access to treat diseases such as HIV we must heed the warning that “those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” said Mr. Buhari. “Only a popular vaccine with equality and solidarity at its core can protect all of humanity and make our societies work safely again. A bold international agreement cannot wait. “
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, home to more than 200 million people and has the third highest number of COVID-19-19 cases in Africa after South Africa and Ethiopia. In March 2020, Buhari created a multisectoral presidential task force to combat COVID-19-19 pandemic, which produced a midterm report in July 2020 outlining a significant body of work undertaken to stop the spread of COVID-19-19.
However, the report also shows that health infrastructure and equipment levels in Nigeria are not strong enough to support a sustained national response to COVID-19-19 and that if the pandemic were to spread exponentially, Nigeria would have difficulty mounting an effective response. This shows the urgent need for access to a vaccine to COVID-19-19 in Nigeria as soon as it is available.
“UNAIDS and other members of the People’s Vaccine Alliance are calling for a new approach that puts public health first by sharing knowledge and maximizing delivery to make sure no one is left behind,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Anything other than that will lead to more deaths and economic chaos, leading to millions in misery.”
The People’s Vaccine Alliance is a coalition of organizations and activists united under the common goal of campaigning for a People’s Vaccine to COVID-19-19. In support of actions taken by the World Health Organization (who), including the COVID-19-19 Technology Access Pool, the People’s Vaccine Alliance requires that all vaccines, treatments and tests be monopoly-free, mass-produced, fairly distributed and made available to all people, in all countries, in free form.
“The people’s vaccine will go a long way toward leveling out the power dynamics that perpetuate inequality and fuel injustice and will ensure that no one is left behind,” said Edward Kallon, United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria. “No one should be denied a COVID-19-19 due to where they live or the amount of money they have; it has to be a global public good, available to all who need it, regardless of their situation ”.
The People’s Vaccine Alliance calls on pharmaceutical corporations and governments to:
- Avoid monopoly on vaccine production making public funding for research and development conditional on research institutions and pharmaceutical companies sharing all information, data, biological material, technical knowledge and intellectual property. the who COVID-19-19 Technology Access Pool provides the mechanism for such an exchange.
- Avoid the monopoly on vaccine supply allowing as many manufacturers as possible, even in developing countries, to produce the vaccines.
- Implement a fair allocation of the vaccine that prioritizes health workers and other risk groups in all countries. Vaccination programs should include marginalized groups, including refugees, prisoners, and people living in slums and other crowded housing conditions. Allocation between and within countries should be based on need and not on ability to pay.
- Provide the vaccine free at the point of use.
- Ensure the full participation governments of developing countries, as well as global civil society in decision-making forums on vaccines (and other COVID-19-19 technologies) and guarantee the transparency and responsibility of all decisions.
To date, the popular vaccine has been endorsed by more than 140 leaders and advocates around the world, including the President of South Africa and the Chairman of the African Union Commission, the Presidents of Ghana and Senegal, the Prime Minister of Pakistan. , the Director of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the United Nations Program on HIV/ AIDS (UNAIDS).
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