COVID-19: There Is Urgent Need For Innovation, Action In Vaccine Manufacturing, Osinbajo

The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday said the COVID-19 pandemic continues to emphasise the urgent need for innovation and action in vaccine manufacturing and in-vitro diagnostics, not just in Nigeria but across the continent of Africa.

While adding that vaccine manufacturing capacity in Nigeria would greatly impact the national response to COVID-19 and other diseases and this cannot be left to the government alone.

Osinbajo made this known at the 23rd and National conference call and annual general meeting of the Guild of Private Medical Laboratories Directors on Wednesday in Abuja.

The Vice President who was represented at the occasion by the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu said there
is a window of opportunity that exists with infectious diseases and health currently being given priority on the national and global agenda.

According to the Vice President, “This window requires more than just the usual to be done to ensure that actions follow any plans made to scale-up vaccine and diagnostics production

“The keynote session on Harnessing Resources of Public-Private Partnership for the Production of Human Vaccines and in-Vitro Diagnostics in Nigeria will challenge us and foster great conversation and hopefully action towards these necessary

“On the continent, we have such valuable expertise, especially within Nigeria. A lot of this expertise is in the room today and | encourage us all to listen, learn, engage and make the most out of discussions, speaker presentations and opportunities to connect today

“The expansion of the laboratories for COVID-19 testing nationwide from three at the start of the pandemic to now over 140 with the inclusion of private laboratories been a significant contribution to preserving the health of Nigerians’. The inclusion of the private sector was initially considered a risk, but thanks to the proactive leadership of NCDC and the support from the Presidential Task Force, and of course the delivery of private medical laboratories, this risk has paid off.

“Despite predictions of the worst happening in Africa, there are so many lessons being learned from our response globally. These lessons range from our proactivity before the confirmation of the first COVID-19 case to a digital tool developed by Nigerians with German partners known as SORMAS. This tool is the reason why we can get daily COVID-19 case updates

“Diagnostics have continued to play a vital role in our ability to detect COVID-19 cases and has enabled us to mount an effective response to the outbreak.

However opined that, in the face of the critical role of Laboratory services in modern healthcare, it is still saddening and worrisome that the involvement of the Laboratory Private Sector in this NHIS scheme is non-existent.

Therefore, we strongly advocate that NHIS, among other interventions, should urgently address the issues of direct selection of Laboratories by enrollees, as currently being done under COVID-19 private laboratories network; of low capacity utilization of secondary healthcare providers such as stand-alone medical laboratory services, In this way, all registered and accredited healthcare provider laboratories and facilities will be integrated into the scheme as well help us scale up quality coverage of more Nigerians, he added.

However opined that, in the face of the critical role of Laboratory services in modern healthcare, it is still saddening and worrisome that the involvement of the Laboratory Private Sector in this NHIS scheme is non-existent.

Therefore, we strongly advocate that NHIS, among other interventions, should urgently address the issues of direct selection of Laboratories by enrollees, as currently being done under COVID-19 private laboratories network; of low capacity utilization of secondary healthcare providers such as stand-alone medical laboratory services, In this way, all registered and accredited healthcare provider laboratories and facilities will be integrated into the scheme as well help us scale up quality coverage of more Nigerians, he added.

 

Independent Newspaper

 

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