Nigeria may spend about 540.4 billion naira, to procure and distribute 218,400,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
The figure is based on estimates of the World Health Organization WHO, as regards the total amount of funds that Africa would need to pursue a vaccination drive.According to the WHO, Africa will need at least N3.4trillion to procure and distribute 1.4 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
This development comes as Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; his Edo State counterpart, Godwin Obaseki; as well as the wife of Osun State Governor, Mrs Kafayat Oyetola, among others, have expressed worry over the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, amid rising cases and deaths in the past few weeks
Meanwhile, the Immunization and Vaccines Development Programme Coordinator, WHO, Dr Richard Mihigo, has said it will partner institutions such as the African Union, World Bank and others to roll out the COVID-19 vaccination in Africa.Speaking further, Mihigo explained that it was not just about the cost of the vaccines, but the cost of delivering them and ensuring that they got to the right locations. He added that there were no guarantees that there would be enough supplies before the end of 2021.