The Federal Government has received a $9.3 million Canadian dollars grant from the Global Initiative for Vaccine Equity (CanGIVE), to boost COVID-19 vaccine delivery and strengthen the broader health system in the country. This was disclosed by the Canadian higher Commisioner Amb. Jamie Christoff in Abuja, during the launch of CanGIVE in Nigeria. The event was hosted by the Federal Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NpHCDA), and Nigeria Centre For Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), supported by World Health Organization (WHO).
The Canadian high Commissioner therefore, said that 7 countries would benefit from the global initiative of $317 million by Canada and Nigeria would be receiving the greatest share.
“Nigeria was also amongst the first countries to receive COVID-19 aid from Canada in September 2021.
“This important project is another important example of Canadian historical institutional relationship with the support of Nigeria in the critical work for preventing diseases and protecting those most at risk in the country,” he said.
He emphasized on how countries required support to integrate COVID-19 vaccination into ongoing immunization programmes and primary health services in a way that strengthened the broader health system and reverses the backsliding trend in routine immunization over the pandemic.
In his words; “Canada is contributing to these efforts, building on Canada’s long-standing commitment to investing in and supporting health systems worldwide.
“Through CanGIVE, Canada will continue to support vaccination for high-risk groups where vaccination coverage remains low, particularly in humanitarian contexts and hard-to-reach places. CanGIVE is aimed to “strengthen vaccine delivery systems and community outreach to reach high-priority and marginalized groups
This grant aims to integrate COVID-19 prevention and care, including increased gender-responsive capacity into routine health services in a way that strengthens the broader health system.
