President Buhari
Nov. 12, 2021
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged stakeholders on the continent to begin to develop the required collaborations for local production of vaccines if Africa must attain the high level of post-COVID-19 recovery recorded in more developed economies.
The President who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, stated this on Thursday at the opening of the 51st Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, CPA (African Region) in Abuja.
According to the President in a statement by Laolu Akande, spokes person to the Vice President, “without vaccination of a huge number of its people, Africa remains at continued risk of socio-economic stagnation, because continuing infections including from new variants, will prevent full recovery. There is evidence that the economic rebound in other parts of the world is positively related to the extent of vaccinations that they have undertaken.
“We appreciate the vaccines that have come to Africa through the COVAX Initiative and other bilateral donations, but there remains much more to be done. We must ensure that while we are at it, we must develop the collaborations to be able to produce vaccines within Africa itself.”
Speaking further, President Buhari noted that “to be sure, we need resources that will help increase the scale and pace of vaccinations against COVID-19 in Africa. The high and upper-middle-income countries have achieved vaccination rates of over 80%, while very few African countries have reached the 5% level of vaccination.”
On the issue of Climate Change, the President said “it is another area in which global development is impacting Africa, and in which we need a unified response.
“It is particularly important for Africa Commonwealth governments to pay attention to this matter. In any event, the protection of the environment is a matter of core concern for the Commonwealth.
“The issue of climate change poses a number of dilemmas for African countries and we must strive to find the right balance in shaping our responses.”
In this regard, President Buhari said “the international community must meet its pledges to Africa and the developing world in terms of financing and technology, to support mitigation and adaptation to climate change.”
“The $100billion a year pledged by the wealthier economies to help developing economies respond to the challenges of climate change has never been met.
The President added that “given this situation, it is fair that as African policymakers and legislators we are compelled to respond through policies that drive growth, create jobs, and improve livelihoods, and that pays special attention to the needs of women and girls.”
Dignitaries at the event included top officials of the association and a good number of parliamentarians from across the continent, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, and the regional secretary of CPA, Ms Nenelwa Joyce Mwihambi, among others.
