Covod-19 vaccines: WTO wants manufacturers to invest in Africa…Okonjo-Iweala
The Director General of World Trade Organisation (WTO), has commenced talks with Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers on the possibility of producing vaccines in Africa, including Nigeria, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has revealed.
Okonjo-Iweala who spoke on the occasion marking the National Diaspora Day said talks are already on with various vaccine manufacturers in this regard.
She explained that to halt the global vaccine inequality, there is a need to begin manufacturing in Nigeria and other African countries.
She therefore said efforts should be on how to shift production to Africa.
“The vaccine volume is actually increasing. In June, they had 1.1 billion doses more vaccines produced in the world, 45 per cent more than the amount in May. That’s the good news. The bad news is that most of those doses ended up in the develop countries and the vaccine inequity continues and that why we are trying to work with them (vaccines producers) to change the story,” WTO DG said
She efforts are on to persuade manufacturers to come to Africa, including Nigeria to invest as part of the mandate of the WTO to monitor export restrictions and trade facilitation measures.
she said, “The WTO has the job of monitoring export restrictions and trade facilitation measures, and what I’m trying to do is to leverage that, to actually work with companies; to persuade them that ‘if we work with you to monitor supply chains, remove export restrictions, will you invest in our country? Just a few days ago, last Thursday, we had a conference with manufacturers of vaccines, all the CEOs of the major companies were there; from Moderna to Pfizer to AstraZeneca, J& J; the Chinese ones also. And the idea is supporting them to invest in Africa, including in Nigeria. I just want to say the President set up a taskforce headed by the minister of health to look at the issue of how we manufacture our own vaccines.”
She therefore challenged Nigerians diaspora to see how they can help support the country to do better.
