The Minister of State for Health, Iziaq Salako, says Nigeria is not yet capable of producing vaccines locally.
Salako said this on Thursday, addressing the nation’s vaccine production capacity.
When asked if Nigeria could produce vaccines now, he replied, “Unfortunately, not. One of the key elements Nigeria is driving under the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Health Value Chain is to promote local vaccine development.”
He explained that producing vaccines requires careful economic and technical consideration and that local production must be economically viable.
“It is not enough to just say you want to produce vaccines. You must first consider comparative advantage. If producing locally costs more than importing, then it defeats the purpose. You must do all the analysis,” he said.