ENIOLA AKINKUOTU, TUNDE AJAJA,TOPE OMOGBOLAGUN and KAYODE OYERO
The Federal Ministry of Health has yet to submit a budget proposal to the National Assembly for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines — over one month after the legislative arm of government asked the ministry to do so, Sunday PUNCH has learnt.
This has, however, begun to spark fears that the delay may affect the procurement of the much-awaited vaccines.
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, had on December 22, 2020 told the Senate that the Federal Government would need about N400bn to vaccinate 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population. The Senate leadership subsequently asked Ehanire to bring a budget while they promised to give it quick consideration.
Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora, said calculations were still being done, hence the delay in the submission of the budget.
Mamora said Nigeria had yet to decide on what brand of vaccines would be procured but said he was confident that once the budget is submitted, the National Assembly would give it swift approval.
He said Nigeria would take delivery of 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine in February while the African Union had also approved millions of doses for the country.
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The minister said, “Yes, the funds are not available not because there is no will. We have commitment from the President (Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.)) himself but we still have to make the budgetary proposal available to the National Assembly as a form of supplementary budget and we have the commitment of the National Assembly to grant the request.
“The proposal is not yet ready because we want to be sure that it is well put together so that we don’t go back and forth. The second issue is deciding which vaccines to go for because there are many vaccines in the market and we want to obtain the one that will be suitable for our own situation in terms of storage and cost.”
Mamora also said it was easier for smaller countries to get the vaccines than it was for larger countries like Nigeria with a population of over 200 million.
The minister said the third factor responsible for the delay was the various engagements and negotiations that were ongoing between Nigeria and other countries producing COVID-19 vaccines.
When asked if the N400bn estimation would be reduced since Nigeria would be getting vaccines from COVAX and the AU, Mamora said, “The price of some of these vaccines appear to be fluctuating, so it will still be in the realm of projection.
“Also, it is not just about the cost of vaccines but the cost of operations. You also have to buy syringes and you have to pay personnel. You have to make cold chain facilities available. So, all these are involved. It goes beyond the cost of vaccines.”
Morocco, South Africa, eight others begin distribution
Meanwhile, findings by Sunday PUNCH showed that about five African countries had begun administering COVID-19 vaccines to their citizens.
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The countries include Morocco, Guinea, Seychelles and Mauritius while South Africa and Egypt had already received a combined 6.5 million doses.
Speaking with select journalists on Thursday, the leadership of the World Health Organisation, Africa region, said hopefully by the middle of February, the COVAX Facility, which is a Gavi-coordinated pooled procurement mechanism for developing COVID-19 vaccines and ensuring fair and equitable access, would make vaccines available to other African nations.
The Immunisation and Vaccines Development Programme Coordinator, WHO, Dr Richard Mihigo, said, “A few countries have started vaccination. Seychelles started immunising its population three weeks ago. They have immunised 10,000 and their vaccination is still ongoing. Seychelles is using the Sinopharm vaccine. Mauritius started vaccination six days ago, using the AstraZeneca vaccines; close to 400 people have been immunised.
“Morocco received 1.4 million doses last week and is starting vaccination (January 29, 2021). South Africa has ordered close to 1.5 million and is expected to start vaccination very soon.”
Lagos home patients hit 9,856, surge by 136% in four weeks
Meanwhile, amid the rising spread of the dreaded second wave of the virus, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, has disclosed that the number of patients undergoing COVID-19 home treatment in the state has risen to 9,856.
The latest figure represents an increase of 5,680 patients undergoing home treatment between January 1 and January 28. Saturday PUNCH on January 2 reported Abayomi as saying 4,176 patients were undergoing home treatment as of January 1, 2021.
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This also implies that within four weeks, the number of patients undergoing COVID-19 treatment at home in Lagos State surged by 136 per cent. Lagos State has remained the epicentre of the pandemic since the first case of the virus in Nigeria was detected on February 27.
In his tweet on Saturday afternoon, Abayomi on his verified Twitter handle, @ProfAkinAbayomi, wrote, “Total number of #COVID-19 cases discharged from #COVID-19 care centres – 3,387. Total number of #COVID-19 recovery in communities was 34,094. Cases currently under isolation – 233. Active cases under home-based care – 9,856. New #COVID-19 related deaths – 3. Total deaths (in Lagos State) – 301.”
The commissioner also pointed out that the bed occupancy rate at care centres across the state had dropped to 66 per cent from 75 per cent between January 25 and 28, 2021.
He added, “#COVID-19 testing capacity continues to increase with daily testing ranging between 2,500 and 3,000. Volume of samples tested by private laboratories is now 51 per cent.”
He said there were 21 accredited private and four public health laboratories in the state, adding that total samples tested were 316,801, out of which 293,404 were valid initial samples while the remaining 23,397 were repeat samples tested. In all, he said 47,871 were diagnosed positive.
NACCIMA, LCCI warn against another lockdown
The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry have warned the Federal Government against imposing any form of fresh lockdown on the country.
The Federal Government had mulled the idea of a partial lockdown in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja and Lagos, Plateau and Kaduna states following the rise in the number of cases.
As of Friday, Lagos State had 47,879 confirmed cases, the highest in the country, followed by the FCT, which had 16,565; Plateau State, which had 7,891 and Kaduna State, which had 7,575.
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The National Incident Manager of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr Mukhtar Muhammad, on Friday said on Channels Television, “Certainly, even if we are going to have a lockdown, it is not going to be a total lockdown. A couple of weeks back, we analysed the data and we identified the hot-spot local government areas.
“Mostly, the areas affected are the urban local governments in Abuja; Lagos, Kaduna and Plateau (states). Even in most other states, it is the urban areas that are involved. So, if we are going to have any restrictions, it will be in these areas.”
But NACCIMA asked the government to discard the idea of another lockdown, whether partial lockdown or total, saying the economy would not survive it.
The Director-General, NACCIMA, Amb. Ayo Olukanni, said in an interview with one of our correspondents, “We cannot survive another lockdown. They should work on ensuring effective implementation of the various guidelines and protocols as far as the containment is concerned. They should also work hard to ensure quick vaccination of Nigerians, and if they can do enough of that, it would boost immunity.
“Whether partial or not, it is not an option. We saw what happened during the first lockdown and there is no evidence that it worked. So, lockdown is not an option.”
Similarly, the Director-General, LCCI, Dr Muda Yusuf, said even though the chamber appreciated the concerns of the government, especially given the increasing spread of the virus and weak compliance with measures to contain the spread, the system could not afford another lockdown.
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He added, “It is noteworthy that the government is not contemplating a complete lockdown. We do not have the capacity to manage the social consequences of a complete lockdown. We cannot afford to shut down the economy.
“Majority of the working population depend on daily income for survival. The economy is about 50 per cent informal. The lockdown model cannot achieve much in this environment. The chances of a serious push back and backlash are very high.
“We should strengthen enforcement and put in place a risk management framework that targets activities and locations that pose the highest risk to the containment of the pandemic. Lives matter, but livelihood is no less critical. We should ensure a balance between the two. The Executive Order on the COVID-19 containment measures is comprehensive and timely. Enforcement of these measures is what we should focus on.”
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