The World Health Organization (WHO) Saturday debunked reports that it disqualified Nigeria from accessing covid-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility.
It reiterated that Nigeria is well on track to receive its first share this month.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, disclosed that only four countries out of 13 were going to receive the limited 320,000 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. The countries are – Cape Verde, Rwanda, South Africa and Tunisia.
The United Nations Agency cited current mortality rates, new cases and trends, and capacity to store the vaccine at – 70 degrees Celsius, as criteria for selecting the recipient countries.
It, therefore, urged African countries to fine-tune their planning for covid-19 immunization campaigns, stressing that it cannot afford to waste a single dose of these vaccines.
The Country Representative of WHO, Dr Walter Mulombo Kazadi, in a tweet stated: “WHO is part of COVAX facility and can never disqualify a Member State from accessing an approved vaccine for their population. I call upon members of the press in Nigeria and globally to contribute to fighting misinformation.
“Earlier, I emphasized WHO stand in ensuring equitable distribution of the COVID19 vaccines across the world and in Nigeria as one of the AMC countries. Covid19 vaccines portfolio growing, and Nigeria is set to receive its first share this month.”
COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO. Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world, especially low and middle-income countries in Africa.