Nigeria Plan Procurement of 29m Doses Of J&J COVID-19 Vaccine
The Federal Government is committed to procuring 29.588 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine through the AVAT initiative, coordinated by Afreximbank.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, who made this known at a Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI) General Assembly webinar, said the supplementary budget for COVID-19 vaccines would cover the cost of additional vaccines over and above those provided by COVAX, as well as the full cost of operations and logistics for delivering the vaccines around the country.
She stated: “Already, the sum of N29.1 billion has been released from the Routine Immunisation budgetary provision (Service Wide Vote) to the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) as an advance for the operational cost of deployment of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
The federal government is committed to procuring 29.588 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine through the AVAT initiative, coordinated by Afreximbank, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, has said.
Speaking at a Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI) General Assembly webinar, she said the supplementary budget for COVID-19 vaccines would cover the cost of additional vaccines over and above those provided by COVAX, as well as the full cost of operations and logistics for delivering the vaccines around the country.
She stated: “Already, the sum of N29.1 billion has been released from the Routine Immunisation budgetary provision (Service Wide Vote) to the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) as an advance for the operational cost of deployment of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Microsoft disclosed in a statement saying:
“Six regions in the country have been earmarked for the development of high-speed internet infrastructure. Microsoft’s Airband team will work closely with local partners to improve broadband connectivity in these communities while also assisting with the design and implementation of hyper-scale cloud services.”
The FG stated that Microsoft’s AirBand Tech has enabled rural and underserved communities gain access to high-speed internet connectivity, tapping into the unused broadcasting frequencies of television white spaces. The technology is also cheaper and faster to deploy than fibre and is coming at a time when telecoms have been the brightest spot of Nigeria’s economy in a period of declining growth.
By Ndubuisi Francis
The federal government is committed to procuring 29.588 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine through the AVAT initiative, coordinated by Afreximbank, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning,
Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, has said.
Speaking at a Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI) General Assembly webinar, she said the supplementary budget for COVID-19 vaccines will cover the cost of additional vaccines over and above those provided by COVAX, as well as the full cost of operations and logistics for delivering the vaccines around the country.
She stated: “Already, the sum of N29.1 billion has been released from the Routine Immunization budgetary provision (Service Wide Vote) to the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) as an advance for the operational cost of deployment of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Vice-Chancellor of Igbinedion University, Okada (IUO), Professor Lawrence Ezemonye
Vice CHANCELLOR, Igbinedion University Okada (IUO) in Edo State, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, has lamented that the COVID-19 pandemic left developing countries with limited resources to effectively respond to the global crisis.
Speaking at the institution’s 2021 Annual Research Summit with the theme: Impact of COVID-19 on Research and Development, he said the absence of adequate policy responses worsened the situation.
The professor of ecotoxicology and environmental forensics, who expressed concerns over the country’s efforts to contain the pandemic among other national issues hindering Nigeria’s development indexes, said climate change responses fell short of the Paris Agreement objective of limiting global warming to between 1.5c and 2c.