NPHCDA Promises Best COVID-19 Vaccination programme in Africa  

By Joyce Remi-Babayeju

Executive Director to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCD, Dr. Faisal Shuaib has said the agency would deliver the best  COVID-19 vaccination programme in Africa

Shuaib said  that he is confident that the agency would achieve this feat despite  the lack of confidence  by the National Assembly that NPHCDA have the capacity to deliver on the COVID-19 vaccination in the country and the success recorded so far on the vaccination programme.

He made this promise  today  in Abuja at the NPHCDA Year 2021 Staff Productivity and Send –  Forth Ceremony.

He said, ” Nobody gave us a chance to deliver on COVID-19. Nobody gave us a chance to  do  the best COVID-19 programme all across Africa.”

“I  know that our number might not be showing that we are doing so well, but it is not how well you start but how well you finished and we will finish and will be the best programme in the whole of Africa.”

He stated that at advent  of COVID-19 in the country  the National Assembly invited the agency but  belittled it’s capacity to deliver the vaccination programme.

Shuaib recalled,  “We were invited to the national assembly and a number of legislators told me to my face that NPHCDA does not have the capacity to deliver COVID-19 vaccination”.

“Despite  all of the examples that I gave about how well we worked together to eradicate wild polio virus. They said no, this one is different.”

The NPHCDA boss  praised the staff for their tireless work at making the COVID-19 vaccination programme result- oriented.

Do I need to go back to the National Assembly to show them the amazing things that you guys gave done?, he said.

To appreciate the staff of the agency, Shuaib  promised to  improve the staff welfare packages  and salary increase  reward for the incredible work  they do.

“We are the generation of Nigerians that will make the difference and making that difference start wit you and start with compensating you for the hard work that you have been putting across the years.”

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, our routine immunization still continued to rise from 33 percent to 71 percent and 63 percent and we will keep going, he emphasized.