China donates 470,000 doses of COVID vaccine to Nigeria

The Chinese government has donated 470,000 doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines to Nigeria.

The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, CUI Jianchun, made the disclosure Friday evening during a visit to the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire in Abuja.

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He said the vaccines are expected to arrive in the country soon.

Jianchun said the vaccines were donated to support the country’s fight against COVID-19 in furtherance of the cooperation between the two countries.

“This is perfect proof of the excellent quality of the relationship between our two peoples,” he said.

Minister of Health, on his part, said Nigeria was waiting for the arrival of the vaccines, noting that the country ran out of COVID-19 vaccines since July 8, 2021.

He said China had done a lot to help Nigeria’s development, adding that “if some relationships like that are to blossom, we will continue to nourish it.”

“And also it doesn’t only help us to address the gaps that we have in the healthcare system, but also generally in other kinds of gaps that we have,” he added.

Nigeria has administered at least 3,938,945 doses of COVID-19 vaccines since the programme started in March.

So far, the country has reported 170,122 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with a death toll of 2,130, since it recorded its first positive case on February 27, 2020, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center in the United States, which tracks the global outbreak.