SERAP charges Nigerian govt to ensure transparency in COVID-19 vaccine distribution

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Federal Government to ensure transparency and accountability in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

The first batch of about four million doses of COVID-19 vaccines shipped via the COVAX Facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, United Nations Children and Education Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organisation (WHO) arrived in the country on Tuesday.

In a statement, SERAP challenged the federal government to ensure that details on the delivery and distribution of the vaccines are disclosed and widely published.

The statement read: “Following the arrival in Nigeria today of 3.92 million #COVID19 vaccine doses, we urge President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of Health, PTF on COVID-19 and @NCDCgov to ensure equitable access, human rights, transparency and accountability in the distribution of the vaccines.

“We urge the Federal and State governments to publicly and widely make available all spending details on COVID-19.

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“We’ll be issuing Freedom of Information requests to Nigerian authorities to ensure transparency and accountability around COVID-19 spending and distribution.

“Nigerian authorities must disclose and widely publish including online details on the delivery and distribution of #COVID-19 vaccine doses.

“Nigerians need to know the details including the costs and logistics of distribution so that they can hold governments and public officials to account for the country’s constitutional and international human rights and anti-corruption obligations.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is a major public health and human rights crisis in the country today. Vaccines should not be distributed on the basis of people’s political and economic power or influence.”

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