By Ken Chiwendu
The coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare,Muhammad Ali Pate, said work is in progress to develop a vaccine for Lassa fever in the country.
Pate who made this known during the third edition of the ministerial press briefing series (MPBS) in Abuja on Wednesday said a special task force comprising the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and foreign partners are already conducting studies on the disease.
He said “We launched a task force to start working towards a Lassa fever vaccine in Nigeria chaired by the NCDC, NAFDAC DG, and our foreign partners to start conducting studies on Lassa fever,” he said.
“So when the vaccines are developed, they are manufactured in Nigeria.
“That task force is doing its work so that currently in the future when we have Lassa fever, people can take the vaccines and we don’t have to dose people everywhere.”
“So his mandate in health insurance is a key priority of this administration. In the last several months more than 750,000 thousand Nigerians have been enrolled,” he said.
Pate also announced a breakthrough on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination.
“Since the launch of the HPV vaccine in October 2023 across 15 states plus the FCT, we have successfully vaccinated more than 4,95 million eligible girls aged 9-14 years representing 80% of eligible girls,” he said.
“The Phase 2 introduction is scheduled for May 2024 in Anambra, Borno, Cross-river, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kwara, Kogi, Ondo, Rivers, Oyo, Sokoto, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Yobe, Plateau and Zamfara.
“Pre-implementation activities have commenced to ensure a successful phase 2 introduction, a crucial milestone in our ongoing efforts to combat cervical cancer.”
Earlier, the Minister of Information and National Orientation,Mohammed Idris, said direct payments of N25,000 to 12 million households under the national social investment programme (NSIP) “will resume immediately”.
Idris said that the government is equally tackling insecurity adding “more success stories are coming in on a daily basis”.
“Without any doubt, we are winning the war against insecurity,” the minister said.
Speaking on the implementation of the Oronsaye report, Idris said President Tinubu aims to achieve significant cost savings by eliminating duplication of functions, streamlining administrative processes, and optimizing resource allocation.
“Only two days ago, the president approved a revolutionary approach towards reducing the cost of governance through the implementation of the much-talked-about Oronsaye Report – 12 years after the report was submitted to the then President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan,
“This is a clear demonstration of Mr. President’s unwavering commitment to fiscal prudence and responsible governance by championing a comprehensive review of the government‘s commissions, agencies, and parastatals.”He said
