THE Nigerian Academy of Medicine (NAMed) has sought for the local production of vaccines in order to tackle the rising spread of epidemics in Nigeria.
This was stated at the 2024 annual lecture and induction ceremony of the academy held in Abuja on Tuesday, September 3.
The secretary of the academy and member, board of trustees, Oluwole Atoyebi, said the country, especially the northern parts have been hit with different epidemics most of which are vaccine preventable.
“We have this episodic epidemic meningococcal meningitis in Nigeria especially in the northern part and this is a vaccine preventable disease.
“We should plan and drive our policy towards self-sufficiency to be able to produce vaccines locally and for our own people,” he said.
Atoyebi noted that the choice of topic for the year was based on the rise of several disease outbreaks in the country. He stressed the need to improve preparedness and start local production of vaccines.
“The choice of topic this year is based on the fact that we have been having epidemics and we as an academy. We are worried about our level of preparedness for epidemics coming now and again.
“In particular, the vaccine preventable diseases, how do we get ready for it; if we continue to depend on foreign institutions to produce vaccines, we will never get it off,” he said.
A report by The ICIR stated that in 2023 alone, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reported recurrent outbreaks of some diseases, including cholera, Lassa fever, diphtheria, and dengue.t
In the report, an expert who gave his recommendations to what the government can do said the recurring outbreaks of these conditions have necessitated a comprehensive and proactive approach from tiers of government in the country.
On August 14, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Mpox as a global public health emergency, for the second time in two years after there was an outbreak of the viral infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo which had spread to neighbouring countries.
Within the first two weeks of the outbreak, the infection had spread to 16 countries in the continent, with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and South Africa recording the highest number of infections.
Meanwhile, the United States had donated 10,000 doses of Jynneos vaccine to Nigeria as part of efforts to combat the spread of Mpox in the country.
Jynneos, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is used to prevent smallpox and Mpox in adults aged 18 and older who are at risk of infection.
Also speaking at the event, the president of the academy, Samuel Onyebulam, noted that the major need of challenge in producing a vaccine is funding.
“From all the information before us and the evidences released by the lecturer, on the major problems, is funding. Government does not have enough funds to drive the research.
“In my address, I repeatedly said the academy has the mission of sourcing funds for research because all over the world, medical profession advances through research. If we don’t have funds for research, we cannot improve healthcare,” he added.
The lecture, tagged, “vaccine Preventable Diseases in Nigeria: The Quest for Self Sufficiency” saw the induction of 20 academics in to different specialties of the academy including, basic medical, basic clinical, dental, public health, medical sciences, surgical sciences and medical education specialties.