By Iyemah David
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), has said that over half of the country’s eligible population have been partially vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Executive Director of NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, said this during the handover ceremony of 22 sterling freezers donated by United Parcel Service Foundation (UPS).
Shuaib revealed that 58,075,837 people, representing 52 per cent of Nigeria’s eligible population, have received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines, while 45,351,331 have been fully vaccinated, which represents 40.6 per cent of the eligible population.
“Making this remarkable progress amidst persistent disinformation and low-risk perception has been possible because of the significant support we have received from our development partners, including UPS.
“We cherish our partnership with UPS and will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria meets its target of vaccinating half of its overall population against COVID-19.
“As our country moves rapidly towards herd immunity, it is my firm belief that no country in the world is safe from COVID-19, and no business entity is safe from its adversities until all of us are safe,” he explained.
The NPHCDA said that the agency’s SCALES 3.0 campaign strategy offers a unique opportunity for childhood vaccination and other PHC services for beneficiaries concurrently with COVID-19 vaccination.
“We, therefore, urge parents to take their eligible children for vaccination against polio, yellow fever, measles and other vaccine-preventable childhood diseases in the same locations where the adults also receive COVID-19 vaccines.
“Our mobile teams are also in possession of all these vaccines when they visit your homes. Please welcome them and present yourselves and your eligible children for vaccination as may be applicable,” he explained.
Earlier, the Head of UPS Foundation Africa, Mr Bassey Aneri, said UPS has done a lot and has so far delivered about 21 million doses of vaccines across the country.
Also, the Managing Director, of UPS Nigeria, Mr Micheal Umoh, said that a strong supply chain is very critical to medical, pharmaceutical and other aspects of health, saying it is one thing for you to produce and another thing for you to move it to those that need it and that is where the supply chain becomes very useful to provide last mile delivery support to the country.
