President orders minister to submit progress report on vaccine production

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, to submit a progress report by the end of May 2022 on indigenous production of vaccines in the country.

The President gave the directive in Abuja, yesterday, while receiving at the State House the leadership of the Nigeria Integrated Biopharmaceuticals Industries Consortium (NIBI), led by Mr. Vilarugel Cuyas, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Fredlab.

The President commended the NIBI consortium made up of European biotechnology companies (Merck, Unizima, Rommelag, and Fredlab), who are collaborating with Nigerian start-up, PIA BioPharma, to establish a world-class Bio-Pharma Industrial Complex for the manufacture of vaccines and essential therapeutics in Nigeria.

Stressing that this administration considers food and medicine sufficiency as national security issues, the President asked the health minister and his team to work closely with the consortium on the Federal Government support required for actualisation of the NIBI project within the next few months.

He said: ‘’While the Ministry of Health continues to drive collaboration with investors for vaccines, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, in a move towards self-sufficiency, I welcome the NIBI consortium’s desire to partner with the Federal Government, in support of our agenda, and look forward to implementation of the NIBI project as it takes shape.’’

Recounting the impact of COVID-19 on Nigeria’s economy and health systems and how some nations with comparative advantages in being centres of bio-pharmaceutical productions adopted a ‘me-first’ attitude towards securing their citizens, Buhari said: ‘’I want Nigeria to make a bold statement in this field, not just for reasons mentioned earlier, but because of its knock-on effects on our economy at large.’’

The President told his audience that Nigeria has learnt key lessons from the pandemic, including how countries must look inward for sustenance in food and medical supplies.

He added: ‘’Having witnessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our health system, our communal life and national economy, from which we are yet to fully recover, we are reminded that the wealth of a nation is dependent on the health and wellbeing of its citizens.

‘’At the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria was quick to respond to what seemed an existential threat, by strengthening the health system’s capacity to handle the pandemic – an initiative that continues till today in collaboration with the state government, private sector, and international partners.

‘’Key lessons of the pandemic are that nations can be brought to their knees by disease outbreaks that cripple national and international trade, and that countries must be able to look inwards for sustenance in food and medical supplies. The benefit of this administration’s early investment in agriculture came to light during this global turbulence.

‘’However, we cannot say the same for essential medicines, health supplies and, most importantly, vaccines to protect our citizens. Increasing the capacity for in-country production of vaccines and medical supplies has, therefore, become a matter of not just urgency, but of national security.”