The Chinese Government on Friday donated 470,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Nigeria, in a bid to boost the efforts to immunize Nigerians against the deadly COVID-19 virus. The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jianchun, made the donation to the Nigerian Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, in Abuja. According to Jianchun, the gesture was a result of the good relationship between Nigeria and China. Jianchun noted that the efforts to eliminate the COVID-19 pandemic require worldwide collaborations. The Chinese Ambassador warned against politicizing issues surrounding COVID-19 or blaming China for the outbreak, rather than collaboration should be worked out on ways to eliminate the disease.
He noted that Nigeria is a very important country to China due to its population and size.
“COVID-19 is a health issue. We need cooperation. We need unity to overcome COVID-19.”
In his reaction, Dr. Ehanire, thanked the Chinese government for the gesture, adding that the donation was timely. Adding that Nigeria stopped vaccination on July 8 due to lack of vaccines but with the latest donation, vaccination of citizens would resume in earnest.
He, therefore, called for sustained collaboration and exchange of information on the best ways to eradicate the COVID-19 pandemic.
