Manufacturing Capacity
WTO chief: Patent waiver not enough to close vaccine gap
World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that intellectual property waiver alone will not be enough to narrow the huge COVID-19 vaccine supply gap between rich and poor countries. She told the European Parliament that it was clear that discussions around vaccine patents alone would not suffice, saying that global leaders should do more to ensure that there is equitable production and distribution of the jabs. Okonjo-Iweala said developing countries had complained that the licensing process was cumbersome and should be improved upon. She added that while it makes sense to protect research and innovation, it is also important to expand access to the vaccines. According to her, manufacturers should work to expand production, pointing to idle capacity ...
EU releases last tranche of $14.5 million to assist Nigeria rollout coronavirus vaccine
The European Union has said $14. 5 million out of the €50 million promised to the Federal Government to assist in the roll out of COVID-19 vaccine would be released this week. The Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria, Ambassador Ketil Karlsen, who addressed newsmen yesterday in Abuja, revealed that already €9 million grant had been released to boost the prevention and response to Coronavirus in Nigeria. “The EU is taking the lead in supporting partner countries, including Nigeria, to tackle the tackle the COVID-19 pandemic by combining resources from the EU, its member states and European financial institutions, under the ‘Team Europe’ initiative. “At the onset of the pandemic in Nigeria, the EU rapidly mobilised €50 million grant in humanitarian aid was given to Nigeria to boost preventio...
