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General News of Friday, 11 June 2021

Source: www.mynigeria.com

NGO demands fair access to coronavirus vaccines

Coronavirus vaccine Coronavirus vaccine

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), a Non-Governmental Organization has called for equitable access to coronavirus vaccines especially in developing countries globally.

According to the organisation, low-income countries, especially countries in Africa only received 0.3 per cent of the 1.3 billion COVID-19 vaccines distributed globally.

The Country Program Director, Echey Ijezie made the statement on Wednesday, June 9, at the unveiling of the Vaccinate Our World (VOW) campaign, adding that despite the availability of coronavirus vaccines, only developed countries have access to them.

He added that the AHF initiated the VOW campaign to urge world leaders, public health organisations to ensure that there is equal access to vaccination for COVID-19.

“About 1.3 billion COVID-19 vaccines have been administered worldwide but a large Chuck is administered in developed countries leaving the least developed countries with only 0.3 per cent.

“Until everybody is vaccinated that is when the pandemic will stop,” the country program director of AHF said.

He continued: “There is a gap that has to be bridged and that gap is between the availability of the vaccine and our own people accepting it which can be done by adopting public health communication strategies which must be done effectively because if the vaccines are available and people are not coming forward to take it, it’s discouraging.”