American philanthropist and Microsoft Co-founder, Bill Gates, says Nigeria does not need to spend too much on acquiring COVID-19 vaccines but should focus more on revitalising the weak and underfunded health sector especially the primary health care centres in the country.
Speaking visually with newsmen on Tuesday the 26th of January, the billionaire urged the government against diverting its limited health fund into trying to pay a huge amount for COVID-19 vaccines.
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“I’m an advocate for the government to have more resources and prioritise health. Obviously I’m not a voter in Nigeria, so Nigeria can decide that independently. So my advice is that the primary health care system is what’s super important and that with those finite resources, you have to prioritise expenditure.
I mean, the deaths from the deficits and primary health care are dramatically higher every year than the total deaths going on in Africa from this pandemic, and so I hope it causes everyone in society to look at these health issues.
There should be close to 100% coverage of all the vaccines and you need to have those very functional primary health care systems because the number of lives you can save is absolutely huge,” he said.
When asked if his foundation would be helping Nigeria in developing COVID-19 vaccines, Gates said such a move would involve a five-year plan.
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