NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
Animal health: L-PRES targets 850m annual vaccine production

Animal health: L-PRES targets 850m annual vaccine production

312 total views today

By Felicia Imohimi

The Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) has announced plans to increase annual vaccine production in the country to 850 million doses, compared to the current capacity of 120 million doses.

The National Project Coordinator (NPC) of L-PRES, Sanusi Abubakar, gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

Abubakar emphasised that the 120 million doses produced annually by the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) was grossly inadequate.

The project aims to achieve this target by enhancing the institute’s capacity.

Abubakar noted that this initiative would reduce the high cost of vaccine imports in the country.

Providing an update on the project’s achievements and prospects, he stated that the goal would be realised by upgrading NVRI’s obsolete infrastructure, equipment, and storage capacity.

The NPC identified the institute’s modernisation as part of the project’s institutional system strengthening component, adding that this initiative would make the country self-sufficient in livestock vaccines.

“Achieving this 850 million vaccine doses annually, we don’t need to import vaccine to Nigeria, we will be self-sufficient.

“We will even export vaccines to other countries and by so doing we are reducing capital flight and dollar issue.

“This will be made possible by making NVRI a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standard laboratory, a mandatory quality assurance pre-requisite for any vaccine-producing institution to be eligible for export of its product to the global community,” he said.

Abubakar listed other key components of the project, including livestock value chain enhancement and the renovation of livestock markets.

He also revealed that the project had completed the 40-million-dose capacity strategic vaccine storage facility in Sheda, FCT, as part of its institutional system strengthening.

Abubakar assured that the project aims to construct six additional storage facilities across the country’s geopolitical zones.

“With these facilities, we will have a place to keep our vaccine for onward distribution to our livestock farmers,” he said.

As part of its institutional strengthening efforts, the project has also established a pasture seed multiplication centre at the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI) in Zaria.

According to Abubakar, L-PRES will further support the institute with animal breeding through Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART), including Artificial Insemination (AI), in livestock by 2025.

(NAN)

Edited by Tosin Kolade

WHO: 25 countries to add malaria vaccines to immunisation by 2025

WHO: 25 countries to add malaria vaccines to immunisation by 2025

329 total views today

Malaria

By Franca Ofili

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that up to 25 countries are expected to include malaria vaccines in their childhood immunisation programmes by the end of 2025.

Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s Director-General, shared this update on Monday during an online media conference focused on global health issues.

He emphasised that these vaccines could save tens of thousands of young lives annually.

However, Ghebreyesus also raised concerns over the risks posed by recent cuts to U.S. funding for global health initiatives.

“Many of the gains in malaria that have been made over the past 20 years are now at risk due to these funding cuts,” he said.

While he refrained from commenting on the U.S. withdrawal from WHO, Ghebreyesus clarified that the cuts he referred to were those affecting direct U.S. funding.

According to him, this includes funding through agencies such as USAID and the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Ghebreyesus warned that the impact of these cuts was already being felt, with severe disruptions in the supply of malaria diagnostics, medicines, and insecticide-treated bed nets due to stockouts and delayed deliveries.

“The U.S. has been the largest bilateral donor to the fight against malaria for the past two decades, helping to prevent an estimated 2.2 billion cases and 12.7 million deaths.”

If disruptions continue, he predicted an additional 15 million cases of malaria and 107,000 deaths this year alone, potentially reversing 15 years of progress.

A similar situation is unfolding with HIV, where the suspension of most funding to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has halted services for HIV treatment, testing, and prevention in more than 50 countries.

Ghebreyesus noted that eight countries were facing severe disruptions to antiretroviral therapy, with some likely to run out of medicine in the coming months.

He said this could lead to more than 10 million additional cases of HIV and three million HIV-related deaths.

The WHO Director-General also highlighted the impact on tuberculosis (TB) programmes, with 27 countries in Africa and Asia facing significant disruptions.

“These include shortages of healthcare workers, diagnostic tools, and collapsing data systems.

“Nine countries have already reported problems with the procurement and supply chains for TB drugs, threatening the lives of affected individuals.

”Over the past two decades, U.S. support for TB services has saved nearly 80 million lives, but this progress is now at risk.

”Additionally, the WHO’s Global Measles and Rubella Network, funded solely by the U.S., faces an imminent shutdown, just as measles outbreaks are increasing globally.

”In 2024, 57 large or disruptive measles outbreaks were reported, continuing a trend from the previous three years,” he said.

Ghebreyesus warned that these cuts were also affecting efforts to eradicate polio, monitor emerging diseases like avian influenza, and respond to disease outbreaks and humanitarian crises.

”Nearly 24 million people living in such crises are at risk of losing access to essential health services.”

Ghebreyesus stressed that other donors must step up, and countries that have relied on U.S. funding must also increase their domestic health spending to maintain progress in disease control and health services.(NAN)

Edited by Abiemwense Moru

X
Welcome to NAN
Need help? Choose an option below and let me be your assistant.
Email SubscriptionSite SearchSend Us Email