In a bid to develop appropriate vaccine to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the globe, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has expressed determination to develope a framework under which grants and long term facilities will be provided to researchers, science institutions and biotechnology firms to develop COVID-19 vaccine.
The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this at the unveiling of the THISDAY Dome Testing, Tracing and Treatment Centre, Abuja on Tuesday donated by the private sector coalition on COVID-19.
Emefiele argued that it was not in the best interest of Nigeria to wait for foreign countries to develop their vaccines for the pandemic as Nigeria would be the last in the queue to receive curative remedies for the teeming population.
“The CBN today challenges Nigerian scientists at home and in the Diaspora to go back to their laboratories and develop a Nigerian vaccine. Once validated by the Health Authorities, the CBN will step in and do the needful for the sake of over 200 million Nigerians now confronted by COVID-19.
“Our inability to accurately predict the extent to which the Coronavirus could spread, and how long it would last, requires that we build sufficient capacity within our health system to contain the spread of the virus, state by state, city by city and preserve the lives of vulnerable Nigerians.
“This requires that we all come together to support the work of the Presidential Task Force in its determination to save lives and stem the pandemic,” he said.
Emefiele commended the Nigerian private sector for the initiative to come together under the Coalition against COVID-19 (CA-COVID) to support the government, by raising funds to provide needed isolation centres, medical equipment among others.
He disclosed that the CA-COVlD-19 had raised up to N27 billion as at date to fund the pandemic-related initiatives.
He said that the donations were being used to build well-equipped isolation centres across the 36 states of the federation.
The occasion was attended by top government functionaries, the Presidential Task Force (PTA) on COVID-19, captains of industry and others.
