India Promises Nigeria 100,000 Doses of Covishield Vaccines

After taking delivery of 3.92 million doses of Covishield vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja yesterday, India has promised Nigeria yet another 100,000 doses of Covishield vaccines. A statement issued by the Indian High Commission in Nigeria on Tuesday said: “India will be gifting 100,000 doses of Covishield vaccines to Nigeria shortly, and 200,000 doses to the United Nations peacekeepers, which include many African military personnel.” The statement added: “A large consignment of 3.92 million doses of Covishield vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII) arrived at the Abuja airport today (yesterday) under the Covax scheme of GAVI. “The Covishield vaccine is the first COVID-19 vaccine approved by NAFDAC, and it is the first vaccines to reach Nigeria. It is also among the single largest consignments of vaccines shipped out of India. “Nigeria is among the first few countries in Africa to receive the vaccine. In addition, India will be gifting 100,000 doses of Covishield vaccines to Nigeria shortly, and 200,000 doses to UN peacekeepers, which include many African military personnel.” Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhay Thakur, said the supply of vaccines to Nigeria is in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment made at the UNGA in September 2020 that India’s vaccine production and delivery capacity would be used to help humanity in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The high commissioner said India-Nigeria ties are age-old based on close friendship and mutual trust, noting that the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria marks yet another milestone in the two nations’ bilateral relations. He noted that India has been at the forefront of the global fight against the pandemic, and supports a collective approach in this battle. Thakur said: “Guided by this philosophy, India, as the pharmacy of the world, has supplied millions of doses of vaccines to many countries spread across the globe.” “India has supplied 36.369 million doses of made-in-India vaccines to 36 countries, and will be supplying to another 15 countries soon.” At a UNSC meeting on February 17, 2021, Indian External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, had reiterated India’s approach, and called for ‘vaccine internationalism’, adding that: “India’s commitment to deploy its capabilities for the health and well-being of humanity is not limited to vaccine supply alone, and it has provided critical medicines, ventilators and PPE kits to more than 150 countries, including Nigeria, Benin and Chad.”