By Adeola Ogunlade
The Lagos Civil Society Coalition Against COVID-19 has appealed to the federal government to adhere to the promise of considering the most vulnerable of the citizens and health workers as the COVID-19 vaccines arrives the country.
The Executive Director, Centre for 21st Century Issues and co-convener, Lagos Civil Society Coalition Against COVID-19, Ms. Titilope Akosa in a statement issued on behalf of the coalition, expressed concern about the fair distribution of the vaccine, noting that there should be clear strategies and plans.
The coalition stressed that the vaccines should first be made available in stages to different population groups — prioritizing health care workers at the front lines of the COVID-19 response as well as people at greatest risk of severe illness and death.
The coalition, which is a platform of non-governmental organisations committed to process-led engagement of public health concerns, as well as governance issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic warned against any political influence to dictate the vaccination process.
While advising the government to adhere strictly to its promise of considering the most vulnerable of the citizens and health care workers, it outlined that every individual in Nigeria has high economic value.
The coalition noted that Lagos being the epicenter of the pandemic in Nigeria, the state should be allocated more vaccines than other states of the federation based on the high figures of COVID-19 positive cases recorded.
It further noted that the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria is crucial in controlling the pandemic, and most importantly, the only way out of this crisis is to ensure that everyone is vaccinated.
It also stressed that nobody should be denied the COVID-19 vaccine because of where they live or how much money they have – it has to be a public good, available to all, regardless of their situation.
The coalition urged Nigerians to take the pandemic seriously and not treat it as a hoax; it enjoined the citizens to observe all the safety measures especially the non-pharmaceutical measures, put in place by the government to guard against contracting the virus.
Some organisations which made up the coalition include: Centre for 21st Century Issues (convener of the coalition), YALI Nigeria South West Region, Project Heart to Earth, National Youth Council of Nigeria, EnviroNews Development Network and ICCDI Africa.