Health
COVAX to Facilitate Equal Access to COVID-19 Vaccine—WHO
By Adedapo Adesanya
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the international community has established the COVAX Facility aimed at ensuring all countries have equal access to the coronavirus disease vaccines.
The head of the world health body, Mr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Friday that there was an urgent need to address the financing gap to provide COVID-19 vaccines for everyone and everywhere.
In an appeal for stepped-up funding to support poorer countries, Mr Tedros said “this week, the United Kingdom began the rollout of a vaccine developed by pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer and BioNTech, and more nations are expected to follow suit very soon.”
Mr Tedros, speaking during his regular briefing from Geneva, Switzerland, further said: “To have safe and effective vaccines against a virus that was completely unknown to us only a year ago is an astounding scientific achievement.
“But an even greater achievement would be to ensure that all countries enjoy the benefits of science equitably.
“The international community has established a mechanism, known as the COVAX Facility, aimed at ensuring all countries will have equal access to any vaccines, once developed.”
Nearly 190 countries are participating, and the goal is to deliver two billion doses by the end of 2021.
Mr Tedros said there was an immediate funding gap of $4.3 billion to procure vaccines for the neediest countries.
“I urge donors to fill this gap quickly so that vaccines can be secured, lives can be saved and a truly global economic recovery is accelerated,” he stated.
The WHO chief also called on world leaders to translate political commitment for equitable vaccine access into action.
Meanwhile, the UN agency and its partners are helping countries to strengthen their supply chains in preparation for delivery.
Mr Tedros reported that nearly one billion doses of three vaccine candidates have already been secured, and further deals will be announced in the near future.
Evaluation of the first requests from countries eligible for assistance under the COVAX Facility is also underway.
WHO will soon be making its own determination as to whether some COVID-19 vaccines will be ready for rollout, a senior official said on Friday in response to a journalist’s question.
Several manufacturers have been submitting trial data to the WHO for emergency-use licensing.
Chief Scientist, Mr Soumya Swaminathan, said only those with Phase 3 clinical trial results would be considered.
“We started with the Pfizer dossier; we expect also to have the Moderna followed by the AstraZeneca dossiers examined in the next few weeks,” she said. “And we will be coming out with the decision whether it is receiving an emergency use license or not.”
Mrs Swaminathan added that WHO is working with the International Coalition for Medical Regulatory Agencies (ICMRA) “to speed up things further”. Several national regulators have also volunteered to assist with the assessments.
Her colleague, Mr Bruce Aylward, WHO Senior Adviser, explained that these processes were established to meet the goal of providing vaccines for all.
“We are indeed looking at these products though the WHO Emergency Use Listing Procedure,” he said.
“At the same time, we have an exceptional procedure in place where some products that are approved by what we call a stringent regulatory authority, can also be considered by the COVAX Facility, so there will be no barrier to the speed with which these products could potentially be used globally.”
Mrs Swaminathan recommended that countries will need to have national vaccination plans and related communications strategies in place.
It is important for authorities to explain the deployment process to citizens “because things are happening extremely fast and people are anxious for information”.
She said surveys indicate that most of the world’s population want a COVID-19 vaccine, “but at the same time, many do have questions concerning the process”
“Given that doses initially will be in limited supply, the public also needs to understand why priority will be given to frontline workers, the elderly and other at-risk groups.
“And the more open and transparent we can be, the more likely it is that people will have the trust and confidence and would not only want to take the vaccine but would also be patient and wait for their turn,” she said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Renowned Nigerian author, Ms Chinamanda Ngozi Adichie, has alleged that medical negligence was responsible for the death of her 21-month-old child.
The child, Nkanu, reportedly passed away on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, after a brief illness.
More details have emerged detailing the circumstances surrounding his death.
According to a leaked internal message sent privately to family members and close friends, Ms Adichie blamed a staff of Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital, located in Victoria Island, Lagos, for causing the demise of the lad.
“My son would be alive today if not for an incident at Euracare Hospital on January 6th.
“We were in Lagos for Christmas. Nkanu had what we first thought was just a cold, but soon turned into a very serious infection and he was admitted to Atlantis hospital.
“He was to travel to the US the next day, January 7th, accompanied by Travelling Doctors. A team at Johns Hopkins was waiting to receive him in Baltimore. The Hopkins team had asked for a lumbar puncture test and an MRI. The Nigerian team had also decided to put in a ‘central line’ (used to administer iv medications) in preparation for Nkanu’s flight. Atlantis hospital referred us to Euracare Hospital, which was said to be the best place to have the procedures done.
“The morning of the 6th, we left Atlantis hospital for Euracare, Nkanu carried in his father’s arms. We were told he would need to be sedated to prevent him from moving during the MRI and the ‘central line’ procedure.
“I was waiting just outside the theater. I saw people, including Dr M, rushing into the theater and immediately knew something had happened.
“A short time later, Dr M came out and told me Nkanu had been given too much propofol by the anesthesiologist, had become unresponsive and was quickly resuscitated. But suddenly Nkanu was on a ventilator, he was intubated and placed in the ICU. The next thing I heard was that he had seizures. Cardiac arrest. All these had never happened before. Some hours later, Nkanu was gone
“It turns out that Nkanu was NEVER monitored after being given too much propofol. The anesthesiologist had just casually carried Nkanu on his shoulder to the theater, so nobody knows when exactly Nkanu became unresponsive.
“How can you sedate a sick child and neglect to monitor him? Later, after the ‘central line’ procedure, the anesthesiologist casually switched off Nkanu’s oxygen and again decided to carry him on his shoulder to the ICU!
“The anesthesiologist was CRIMINALLY negligent. He was fatally casual and careless with the precious life of a child. No proper protocol was followed.
“We brought in a child who was unwell but stable and scheduled to travel the next day. We came to conduct basic procedures. And suddenly, our beautiful little boy was gone forever. It is like living your worst nightmare. I will never survive the loss of my child.
“We have now heard about two previous cases of this same anesthesiologist overdosing children. Why did Euracare allow him to keep working? This must never happen to another child,” she wrote.
As of press time, it is not clear what the next line of action will be with the revelation.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The decision of the management of SUNU Health Nigeria Limited to adopt the strategy of placing the enrollee and customer at the heart of its operations has started to pay off.
The company was recently announced as Most Customer-Focused Health Insurance Company of the Year at the Customer Service Standard Magazine Awards 2025.
The recognition underscored the company’s success in translating its dedication into tangible enrollee satisfaction and superior market service at the Nigerian Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO) landscape.
It also highlights the organisation’s dedicated efforts in streamlining claims processing, enhancing access to quality healthcare providers, and maintaining transparent, responsive communication channels with its diverse client base across Nigeria.
The accolade further serves as a powerful testament to the successful integration of digital solutions and human-centric service models at SUNU Health.
It positions the firm as a leader not only in providing robust health plans but also in delivering the supportive, personalized care that enrollees truly value.
“Clinching the Most Customer-Focused Health Insurance Company of the Year award is not just an honour; it is a validation of the core philosophy that drives every member of the SUNU Health team.
“We believe that healthcare is fundamentally a service industry, and our success is measured by the well-being and satisfaction of our enrollees,” the chief executive of SUNU Health, Mr Patrick Korie, commented.
“This award reinforces our resolve to continuously innovate and set new benchmarks for customer experience in the Nigerian health insurance sector.
“Our commitment to providing accessible, high-quality, and seamless healthcare solutions remains our top priority as we move into the new year (2026),” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria has launched its first nationally representative survey on antimicrobial resistance to generate critical data to guide evidence-based policies, improve patient outcomes, and strengthen health system resilience.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites evolve to resist treatment, making infections harder to cure.
As a result, surveillance is essential to track resistance patterns, identify priority pathogens, and guide targeted interventions and with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners, the initiative marks a milestone in the country’s public health response.
Nigeria becomes the third country globally to partner with WHO on a national antimicrobial resistance survey. having been selected based on the country’s strong commitment to AMR surveillance, its updated WHO Nigeria NAP 2.0, and readiness to expand laboratory and data systems.
Africa’s most populous country ranks 20th globally for age-standardized mortality due to antimicrobial resistance . In 2019, an estimated 263,400 deaths in Nigeria were linked to it—more than the combined deaths from enteric infections, tuberculosis, respiratory infections, maternal and neonatal disorders, neglected tropical diseases, malaria, and cardiovascular diseases.
Globally, resistant infections in tertiary care settings cost between $2,371 and $29,289 per patient episode, extend hospital stays by an average of 7.4 days, and increase mortality risk by 84 per cent.
The survey will see the establishment of a national baseline on antimicrobial resistance prevalence to monitor interventions, assess the distribution, burden (morbidity, mortality, DALYs, cost), and diversity of AMR across regions and populations, as well as contribute to the global target of reducing AMR deaths by 10 per cent by 2030, in line with the political declaration endorsed at the 79th United Nations General Assembly in 2024.
It also seeks to strengthen routine antimicrobial resistance surveillance, including diagnostics, sample referral systems, and laboratory capacity.
Using WHO’s standardized methodology, the survey will run for 12–15 months and cover 40–45 randomly selected health facilities nationwide. Patients with suspected bloodstream infections (BSIs) will be identified using standard case definitions, and blood samples will be analysed in quality-assured laboratories.
Data will be collected across all age groups, covering clinical, demographic, laboratory, financial, and outcome indicators. Follow-up will occur at discharge, 28 days, and three months post-infection. The survey will sample approximately 35,000 patients suspected of BSIs to obtain around 800 isolates of the most common pathogens.
Dr Tochi Okwor, Acting Head, Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said, “With WHO’s support, we are confident the survey will generate the evidence needed to protect public health.”
WHO Representative in Nigeria, Dr Pavel Ursu, reaffirmed WHO’s commitment stating that ,“Nigeria is taking a decisive step toward combating AMR with an approach grounded in data, science, and measurable impact. This survey will provide the clarity needed to drive smarter policies, stronger surveillance, and better patient outcomes. Nigeria is laying the foundations for a resilient health system, one that protects lives, strengthens trust, and ensures that essential medicines remain effective for future generations.”
Adding her input, Dr Laetitia Gahimbare, Technical Officer at WHO Regional Office for Africa, added:“Strengthening surveillance enhances Nigeria’s capacity to detect and respond to AMR threats, supporting better patient outcomes, reinforcing health security, and building a resilient system.”
Professor Babatunde Ogunbosi, Paediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist at University College Hospital, Ibadan, highlighted the broader impact:, “This survey is about more than data. It’s about building national capacity for research, diagnostics, and policy. It integrates science into public health decision-making.”
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