Bill Gates advises Nigerian Government against purchasing Covid-19 vaccines

American businessman and CEO of microsoft, Bill Gates, during a virtual press conference ahead of the launch of the 2021 Bill and Melinda Gates annual letters which held on Tuesday night, Jan 26th, has advised the Nigerian Government against using its limited resources to order for expensive Covid-19 vaccines when it can wait for those from Gavi.

He said they should wait for Gavi vaccines and the money proposed for the Covid-19 vaccines be channeled into other health related areas as it would help deepen vaccine coverage and help save lives.

He wrote:

“The key is that Nigeria is still eligible (for GAVI Vaccinee), and so, for a lot of those vaccines, they will come through the GAVI facility that we’ve raised money for.
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. And in that case, waiting for the GAVI vaccines would be the best thing” he said.

Gavi is a global Vaccine Alliance that brings together public and private sectors, creating equal access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries.

Gates also warned other governments to start preparing for the next pandemic

“The unfortunate reality is that COVID19 might not be the last pandemic. We don’t know when the next one will strike, or whether it will be a flu, a coronavirus, or some new disease we’ve never seen before.”

“But what we do know is that we can’t afford to be caught flat?footed again. The threat of the next pandemic will always be hanging over our heads—unless the world takes steps to prevent it” he said.