Nigeria awaits WHO Approval to Manufacture COVID-19 Vaccines: NAFDAC 

Nigeria will begin manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines if it receives approval from WHO, according to Moji Adeyeye, Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

She revealed that NAFDAC was being screened by the UN health agency for an authorization to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria.

Ms Adeyeye spoke at an interactive session with stakeholders in Abuja, organized by the House of Representatives Committee on Safety Standards and Regulations.

“The WHO is auditing NAFDAC, which will allow the country to begin manufacturing vaccines,” the NAFDAC chief added. The program began on Monday and will conclude on Friday.”

The Ministry of Labour and Employment asked Members of parliament to move quickly on the Operational Safety and Health Bill during the session.

Lauretta Adogu, Director of the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, committed to ensure that workplace safety is properly regulated.

“The measure would attempt to include comprehensive provisions for operational health and safety in the workplace, among other things.

“It also intends to establish a National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, which will address various significant concerns and broaden the reach of legislation since we enforce operational safety and health in Nigeria,” she said.

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has said that unregulated facilities are the source of the majority of gas and filling station incidents.

Adeniyi Balogun, the DPR’s Head of Safety and Environment, described it as a major problem, and urged law enforcement authorities to work with the agency.

“What we’ve noticed is that the majority of the accidents occurred at stations that aren’t DPR-licensed. That is a significant difficulty for us; when we license a company, we ensure that a thorough process is followed to ensure that the organization is qualified to perform the operation,” he explained.