The United States government said it has provided $130 million worth of support to Nigeria’s campaigns to combat the COVID 19 pandemic.
The U.S. Mission in Nigeria made the disclosure on Thursday in a statement in which it announced the arrival of 3,577,860 doses of Pfizer vaccine for the public health and benefit of the Nigerian people through COVAX.
The vaccine shipment arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on October 14 brings the total number of U.S.-bilaterally donated doses to Nigeria to over 7.5 million.
According to the statement, the U.S. also contributed to the first multilateral donation of AstraZeneca vaccine in March 2021. It noted that overall COVAX has provided Nigeria with over 10 million doses to date.
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“These vaccine donations are a part of the U.S. government’s continued partnership with the Government of Nigeria in combating COVID-19. To date, the U.S. government has provided $130 million of support to Nigeria’s Ministry of Health and Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19. The U.S. government is looking forward to continued coordination with Nigeria and its Center for Disease Control to deliver life-saving doses across the country through the COVAX initiative.
“Safe and effective vaccines are our best tool to ending the pandemic. The United States has pledged to purchase and donate 1.1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses worldwide, and to date has delivered more than 180 million doses to more than 100 countries.
“The U.S. government’s continued efforts to provide vaccines to African Union (AU) member countries help fulfil President Biden’s pledge when he said: “The United States is committed to bringing the same urgency to international vaccination efforts that we have demonstrated at home. We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic.”
“These vaccine donations are a part of the U.S. government’s continued partnership with the Government of Nigeria in combatting COVID-19. To date, the U.S. government has provided $130 million of support to Nigeria’s Ministry of Health and Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19. The U.S. government is looking forward to continued coordination with Nigeria and its Center for Disease Control to deliver life-saving doses across the country through the COVAX initiative,” the embassy stated.
