Nigeria’s federal government prepares to launch works to build a pipeline that will channel gas to Morocco through a combined offshore and onshore track.
The announcement was made by senior official at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Yusuf Usman, during an interview with local NewsDirect newspaper.
Feasibility studies have been completed and Nigeria is about to take a “final investment decision for the project.”
After recalling the commitment of the leadership of the two countries to the project, Usman reaffirmed that the project “will pick up a lot of African countries. Some of these African countries have gas they will inject into the pipeline while some don’t have but can take the gas for development, if they cannot pay for the gas, they can get electricity.”
“It is this kind of vision that is required to lift Africa from the picture that you saw which is currently in the dark into light. It is a wonderful initiative to do,” he said.
Morocco and Nigeria agreed to build the pipeline in late 2016 during a visit paid by King Mohammed VI to Abuja. Feasibility studies have shown the technical and economic viability of the project expected to attract world gas giants.
The Atlantic pipeline project, which will channel Nigerian gas up to Morocco via 16 African countries with a total GDP of $670 billion, was devised by King Mohammed VI and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to enhance African integration, regional trade and economic cooperation.
The construction of the onshore-offshore pipeline will be carried out progressively in phases spanning over 25 years. This landmark project is part of the South-South cooperation upheld by King Mohammed VI. It is expected to create a competitive regional power market and benefit all West African people, countries and their economies.
In December 2020, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) endorsed the Moroccan-Nigerian off-shore on-shore gas pipeline that will benefit 13 African countries instead of the Algerian ink on paper proposal of a tans-Saharan pipeline.
The endorsement sends a clear message of support for the Nigeria-Morocco pipeline that aims at fostering regional integration and strengthening energy security of West African states.
The Atlantic Nigerian-Moroccan pipeline will also help Western African nations develop their gas exports to Europe, especially Mauritania and Senegal where significant gas assets have been discovered.
The offshore option for the West African pipeline is also safer compared to the riskier Algerian born-dead proposal of channeling Nigerian gas through the Sahara region where multiple terrorist groups operate.
The Algerian trans-Saharan gas pipeline is unfeasible as long as terrorist groups continue to operate in southern Algeria and northern Nigeria. It is also less beneficial to West Africa and more expensive and prone to destruction by terrorist groups.
Given Algeria’s diminishing gas export capacity, the Moroccan Nigerian gas pipeline will, besides helping West Africa achieve its energy security, help Europe have an alternative to reduce dependency on Russian and Algerian gas.

The delta variant of the coronavirus is beginning to spread in California, heralding how the battle for the pandemic will change as officials take action to protect the declining number of minorities who are still at risk because they are not vaccinated.
The spread of Delta variants may be twice that of traditional strains. But California and the rest of the United States are more resilient to COVID-19 than ever. California has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, and the United States has one of the highest per capita vaccination rates in the world.
The vaccines available in the United States are considered effective against Delta variants, just as they are for all known variants. But this still leaves tens of millions of unvaccinated people still potentially vulnerable.
"If you get the vaccine, it's nothing," Dr. George Rutherford, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, said of the Delta variant. "If you are not vaccinated, you will be instilled."
Officials expect that in the past 15 months, the COVID-19 epidemic will not have another fatal surge like the number of people who have hit the country three times in the past 15 months. On the contrary, the risk is greater that the Delta variant will take root in unimmunized communities that have not previously been infected with the coronavirus.
This is what future experts expect: Most people who have been vaccinated are well protected against the world’s worst epidemics in the last century, and those who have not been vaccinated are still at risk.

Doctors Without Borders warned Monday of a major food crisis among children in the Maradi region of Niger, and in northwest Nigeria, just over the border.
“A major nutritional and food crisis seems to be developing, so the priority today is to prepare as best we can,” said a statement from Issiaka Abdou, the agency’s West Africa operations chief.
Maradi has one of Niger’s highest birth rates — more than seven children per woman — and child marriage is common.
Children there regularly face nutritional problems due not just to the shortage of food but to a customary ban on giving fish and eggs to children, say experts.
This year, said MSF, there has been a sharp increase in the number of severely malnourished children at its facilities in the region — up 34 percent on the same period in 2020.
The number of those admitted in a critical condition over the same period has surged by 46 percent, notably at Madarounfa hospital.
Families in northwest Nigeria have been bringing their children over the border for treatment, said the agency: their numbers are up 90 percent on the previous year at Madarounfa.
“In Nigeria, growing insecurity, notably due to criminal groups in Katsina state, has contributed to the deterioration of living conditions for the population living there,” MSF said.
The charity said it was working to improve its work in Maradi and in Katsina State, where the malaria season threatens to be particularly devastating.
In February, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that 457,200 children aged between six months and five years were exposed to severe, acute malnutrition in Niger.

The World Bank’s report on Nigeria entitled ‘Resilience Through Reform,’ released in June, struck a chord among Nigerians with its conclusion that spiral inflation, as never seen in four years, has pushed seven million Nigerians deep into poverty pit in recent times. The report contradicted President Muhammadu Buhari’s chest-beating claim during this year’s anniversary of June 12 Democracy Day that his administration had elevated 10 million Nigerians from poverty.
For over a decade now the alarming rate of poverty has been authenticated by research and statistical reports, including those by the National Bureau of Statistics, which says as of 2019, over 40 per cent of the total population lived below the poverty line. Now that the Naira has been devalued to about N500/$1, this percentage may no longer be tenable. In 2020, Nigeria was adjudged the poverty capital of the world, according to World Poverty Clock, as its over 90 million poor exceeded the poverty prevalence in India.
According to the global bank’s 86-page report, inflation and insecurity are two major causes of increasing poverty in Nigeria. It says, “Driven by a steep increase in food prices, since September 2019 headline inflation has risen dramatically. Although inflation declined slightly in April 2021, it is still the highest in four years. In contrast to previous inflationary episodes in Nigeria, the current trend arises from multiple demand and supply shocks, compounded by policy distortions and the exigencies of the pandemic. On the supply side, a combination of unfavourable weather, insecurity and conflict, and pandemic-related shocks affecting food production and market access are pushing food prices up.” The bank added that: “Food insecurity is more widespread than it was before the COVID-19 crisis, and in November 2020 about 56 per cent of households reported that adults had skipped meals in the previous 30 days.”
There are several other factors responsible for poverty in Nigeria. First, is corruption, considered to be the single greatest obstacle to prosperity in the country. Public officials engage in corruption with such impunity. The head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, raised the alarm recently that he faced death threats from prominent Nigerians. Unfortunately, public officials engaged in corrupt practices are in bed with the government. Funds meant to build infrastructure to boost the economy, tackle unemployment, and reduce poverty are brazenly stolen by public officials through unexecuted government contracts, outright thievery, and sundry pretexts.
Also, the unending war against Boko Haram is another avenue through which resources needed to stimulate the economy is drained. Since 2008, the government has continued to sink over one trillion Naira budgetary allocation into the security sector, and much more extrabudgetary expenditure, in the name of security vote, into the sector. A report on military expenditure says, “part of government’s response to combat Boko Haram challenge is increasing the defence budget from N100 billion in 2010 to N927 billion in 2011 and N1 trillion in 2012, 2013 and 2014 relative to expenditure allocated to other sectors of the economy.”  If part of these huge sums were invested in agriculture, power, industries, education, and other sectors, it would have empowered more Nigerians to pull out of poverty. Government must give the military a target to end the war against Boko Haram, bandits and secessionists. Unless the war is prosecuted successfully and quickly, the government’s efforts to reflate the economy and reduce poverty will be in vain.
The World Bank recommended three measures to tackle rising poverty. The measures include “reduce inflation by adopting policies to support macroeconomic stability, inclusive growth, and job creation; protect poor households from the impacts of inflation, and facilitate access to sustainable financing for small and medium enterprises in key sectors to mitigate the effects of inflation and accelerate the recovery.” Ironically, the devaluation of the Naira and removal of subsidy on petroleum, two monetary policy measures recommended by the World Bank, contribute to inflation and, by implication, poverty in Nigeria. We call on all tiers of government to come up with independent fiscal, trade, and monetary policies that would facilitate local production, instead of our endless dependence on import. Local production would create access to employment and elevate the many from poverty.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden marked 300 million Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in his first 150 days in office in remarks Friday, touting the milestone even as he is likely to miss his goal of getting 70 percent of Americans their fist Covid-19 vaccine shot by July 4.
Biden made a renewed call for people to get vaccinated amid the emergence of the so-called delta variant of the coronavirus, first identified in India, that now accounts for nearly 10 percent of new cases in the U.S. and is linked to more severe illness, particularly in young adults.
"People getting seriously ill and hospitalize due to Covid-19 are those who have not been fully vaccinated," Biden said. "The new variant will leave unvaccinated people even more vulnerable than they were a month ago, this is a serious concern especially because of what experts are calling the delta variant."
Biden said he didn't think the new variant would result in a return to lockdowns because of the number of people who have already been vaccinated, but warned that areas with low vaccination rates could get hit particularly hard.
The White House has increased efforts this month to boost demand for the vaccine in order to meet his July 4 goal, as the U.S. recently surpassed more than 600,000 dead from the virus.
Biden started June by touting free child care and the lure of a complimentary beer to try to persuade more Americans to get vaccinated. The White House has also been encouraging companies to offer incentives to their employees and customers who get vaccinated, expanding the hours and locations of vaccination centers, and increasing its public messaging campaign.
The effort appears to be producing some results — the U.S. has gone from administering an average of 937,000 daily doses on June 5 to 1.17 million doses this week. But Biden is still unlikely to meet his 70 percent goal, according to an analysis of data by NBC News.
At least 65 percent of adults have gotten at least one shot, up from the 56 percent when Biden announced the goal on May 4, according to White House data. Among those 65 and older, 87 percent have at least one shot and 74 percent of those 40 and over have gotten their first dose, the White House said.
Vaccination rates vary widely by state. While 15 states have vaccinated more than 70 percent of their populations with at least their first dose, others like Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana have yet to hit the 50 percent mark.
Daily case counts nationwide have hit their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic, with new cases and deaths down by more than 90 percent since Biden took office, the White House said.
"On July Fourth, we're going to celebrate our independence from the virus," Biden said. "As we celebrate our independence of our nation we want everyone, everyone to be able to do that."

A Presidential aspirant for the 2023 election, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, has said that the president Nigeria deserves should be one that has the capacity to manage diversity equitably and peacefully, create wealth and exterminate poverty.
Speaking with The Guardian at Umuahia, the Abia State capital, the Abia State-born politician and also the current National President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) faulted the extant Nigerian Constitution on the basis that it is not a document prepared by Nigerians.
“This document we operate as constitution was imposed by the military government in our then quest for democratic governance,” he said. He said that the said constitution, which Nigerians call for its amendment, over-concentrated power at the centre and has not devolved power appropriately to the federating units, namely states, local councils, hence the Federal or Central Government became very over-bearing against the federating units.
Besides, he said that the extant constitution had made governance very expensive going by the duplication of offices at the three levels of government and the bi-cameral legislature.
He, therefore, urged that unicameral legislature be considered, including part-time for lawmakers, stressing that the bi-cameralism at federal and state levels has subjected 70-80 per cent of the nation’s income to recurrent expenditures, thus eating deep into that of capital.
Ohuabunwa, a former Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Chairman of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), President of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) and member of both Visions 2010 and 2020, among others, also faulted the extant national resources sharing formula, advising that the generators of the shareable resources should be better compensated by providing that they pay to the central government royalties as the constitution would provide.
The presidential aspirant, who said the Igbo could not be rightly disregarded in the country, urged Buhari to, as father of the nation, think deep and convene a conference of ethnic, religious and other constituent groups in the country to discuss issues of national cohesion, equity and justice.
He said that his aspiration was motivated by divine inspiration, saying: “I am considering the possibility of emerging through one of three platforms, namely PDP, APC and a Third Force (a conglomeration of many political parties).”

In the United States, the youngest vaccine is planned for this fall
Coronavirus vaccines may be available in the fall for 6-month-old children in the United States, according to pharmaceutical companies. Pfizer and Moderna test vaccines in children under 12 years of age By September, results will be available for children aged 5 to 11 years.
Compared to adults, children are much less likely to get a serious illness after being infected with the coronavirus. However, nearly 4 million children in the United States have tested positive for the virus since the outbreak of the paThe Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved for use in children aged 12 to 15 last month.
Based on data from previous studies that evaluated safety, Pfizer gave children aged 5 to 11 two doses of 10 micrograms, one-third of the dose given to adolescents and adults. , Give each child 2 doses of 3 micrograms 6 months to 5 years.
Dr. Bill Gruber, Senior Vice President of Pfizer, said:
The study enrolls up to 4,500 children in more than 90 clinical facilities in the United States, Finland, Poland and Spain. Pfizer researchers will submit complete test data this summer for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
In March, Moderna began testing various doses of vaccines. Young childrenThe study aimed to enroll 6,750 healthy children in the United States and Canada. Results are not expected until late summer, and the FDA’s approval of the vaccine will take longer.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said on Monday, “I think it will be early fall just because we have to age very slowly and carefully.
The company announced at the end of last month that its vaccine had a strong effect between the ages of 12 and 17 and plans to apply to the FDA for approval in that age group. Last week, Moderna called on authorities to fully approve the vaccine, rather than the currently licensed emergency use.
The United States is not the first country in the world to license a coronavirus vaccine for infants.Approved by China Sinovac vaccine for children According to the company’s chairman, he is only three years old. Approval has not been officially announced.
In the United States, the youngest vaccine is planned for this fall.
Source link In the United States, the youngest vaccine is planned for this fall.
ndemic. American Academy of Pediatrics..
Doctors continue to see rare cases. Pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome in childrenA condition associated with Covid-19 that can affect multiple organs, including the heart. Vaccination of children should further contribute to the containment of the virus by reducing its spread in the community.
Pfizer announced on Tuesday that it will test the vaccine in children aged 5 to 12 years. In the coming weeks, we plan to begin testing vaccines in 6-month-old babies.
the company I would like to apply Pfizer spokeswoman Kit Longley said the results for children aged 2 to 5 could come soon afterwards.
Longley added that data from trials for children aged 6 months to 2 years could arrive in October or November and be submitted to the FDA shortly thereafter.

As part of efforts to promote excellence in medical research and education as well as application of research in medicine and the enhancement of human health and welfare, the Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria (AMSN) is to be inaugurated on July 29, 2021, in Lagos, by the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire.
The AMSN was approved by the Federal Government of Nigeria Companies and Allied Matters Act 0f 1990, on June 11, 2019.
According to a statement signed by the Editor, Inaugural Committee of AMSN, Prof. Ogunniyi Adesola, the Academy is a merit-based one. Members shall be persons qualified to practice medicine or dentistry or non-medical practitioners in the related medical specialties. The Academy has honorific membership and it is a policy research organisation. Its members, elected based on their outstanding professional achievements and commitment to service on matters of significance to health. Election to active membership is both an honor and a commitment to serve in Academy affairs.

The statement noted: “After thorough deliberations and due diligence, the Academy has invited eminent and outstanding scholars who have made landmark contributions in medicine and medical specialties as foundation fellows. They have been drawn from all geopolitical zones of the country and those in the Diaspora.

“They consist of Fellows from the Basic Medical Sciences, Basic Clinical Sciences, Clinical Sciences, Dental Sciences, and Emeritus Fellows. The Academy of Medicine Specialties believes these outstanding experts would continue to provide academic and professional leadership in all the various health and medical challenges facing the country as well as enhancing the science, art, theory, and practice of Medicine.

“Of recent the Academy of Medicine Specialties has been very active in providing strategic advisory to Government and the public on the status if the COVID-19 pandemic through information provided by its Rapid-Response Initiative group.”

According to the statement, the Board of Trustees (BOT) include: the Olor’ogun Dr. Sonny Folorunso Kuku as Chairman of the Board; Emeritus Prof. Osato Frank Giwa-Osagie as Vice Chairman; Prof Augustine Ohwovoriole as Secretary BOT; and Prof. Oladapo A. Ashiru as Treasurer and President of the Academy.

It noted that the inauguration will be chaired by the Minister of Health, while Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, Minister of State for Health, Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora, are Special Guest and other senior government officials are expected as guests of honor and chief host.

The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) announced today that it is calling on the federal government of Canada to come up with a plan for reopening the Canada-U.S. border, which has now been closed for nearly 15 months. The campaign stresses the urgency of getting Canadian decision-makers to commit to a date to open the border, before yet another summer tourism season is lost. Prime Minister Trudeau had extended the border ban between Canada and the United States until at least until June 21, 2021.
Trudeau said that over 75% of Canadians may need to be vaccinated before Canada-U.S. border can be opened.
“Medical experts are telling us that we are winning the battle with COVID. With vaccinations rising and case numbers going down, we must now pivot to more forward-thinking policies, and talk about safely reopening the border, ending the extreme financial crush that has flattened the tourism industry and devastated the tourism economy in Canada. As Canada and the U.S. return to normal, we must prepare to open the border quickly and safely, and restart our tourism economy,” stated Beth Potter, President and CEO of TIAC.
TIAC points out that, earlier this month, the Expert Advisory Panel to the federal government on COVID-19 Testing and Screening made a strong case for changing the country’s present travel policy, saying that it should be updated to reflect the progress made on controlling the pandemic. Suggestions included doing away with the mandatory hotel quarantine system and changing the cross-border travel policy.
“The land border closure was a blunt interment to help stop the pandemic, but the fact that people can fly to the U.S. to vacation without quarantining there, but a very limited number of essential workers can cross the border never made sense. At the same time, the government is talking about ending crucial financial relief programs that have kept tourism businesses afloat during this entire ordeal. It can’t be both ways; either continue to support tourism businesses through programs like CEWS and CERS, or start reopening the border so that businesses can get back to work,” said Potter.
“There is a lack of urgency on the Canadian side for planning for the inevitable reopening of the border, which has been out-of-step with U.S. officials and the Biden administration. President Biden formally asked for a border reopening plan immediately after taking office, and so far, Canada has been slow to make any public progress,” added Potter.
TIAC notes that “Public calls for the reopening have been steadily growing on both sides of the border in recent weeks: Congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have called for the border to open now; Liberal MPs Wayne Easter and Nathaniel Erskine-Smith have added their voices, and several prominent editorialists have called for the Canadian government to start the planning process.”
According to the press release, “TIAC is asking the government to take urgent action on this issue, so that Canadian tourism operators and businesses have the ability to plan. They need time to retrain, rehire and market. Many rely on advance bookings and without a clear plan for reopening and a commitment to when it will happen, people are uncertain as to whether or not they can book activities in Canada – at any date in the future.”
“The decision to close the border was made in a time of crisis, and now that we are starting to come through on the other side, we must have a plan in place to reopen the border, to kickstart the Canadian tourism economy. The health and safety of Canadians continues to be of the utmost importance – which is why we need guidance from all levels of government on a plan,” said Potter.

The research and safety of natural medicines in Nigeria are expected to improve as a result of the partnership between the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) and Bloom Public Health.
The NNMDA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a pharmaceutical think-tank, Bloom Public Health, yesterday, May 26, 2021, to support its capacity-building efforts and aid in establishing quality management
systems that meet international standards of operating.
Director-General/ Chief Executive of NNMDA, Dr. Samuel Oghene Etatuvie, said the partnership aims to achieve
the goal of ensuring the availability of safe medicines of local sources for the citizens of Nigeria.
Etatuvie said the use of natural medicines has been an agelong tradition in Nigeria and even more so, ever-increasing in practice in contemporary times as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. He said the use of natural medicine is an element of culture in Nigeria and therefore requires continuous research to identify its benefits and verify that it is not harmful to the Nigerian citizen.
The pharmacist said this partnership between the organisations would result in the accreditation of NNMDA’s Laboratories in ISO 17025: 2017.
“The achievement of the accreditation enhances the reliability of test results generated by the NNMDA laboratory and this will improve the safety of natural medicines in Nigeria.
The Bloom experts would also provide training for the technical staff of the organization,” he said.
After signing the MoU the Director-General/ Chief Executive of NNMDA, Dr. Samuel Oghene Etatuvie, stated that “in today’s research globally, no organization succeeds in isolation, as such we are open for networking, collaboration and general partnership for the common public health interest in our nation and globally. Hence this collaboration with Bloom Public Health becomes necessary and timely.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bloom Public Health, Prof.
Chimezie Anyakora, said: “We can no longer ignore the importance and widespread use of traditional medicines in
Africa. Bloom is looking forward to this partnership and believes it will be one more opportunity to advance public
health in Nigeria. We are excited to see the commitment of the leadership and staff of NNMDA and promise to match
it with our own commitment.
This will be highly beneficial to the Nigerian population and bring traditional medicines close to the mainstream pharmaceutical sector.”
The NNMDA was established in 1997 to enable the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of
Science & Technology (FMST) to actualise its critical and strategic mandate to research, develop, document, preserve, conserve and promote Nigeria’s Natural Medicine (Traditional/indigenous healthcare systems, medications, and non-medication healing arts, science and technology) and assist facilitate their integration into the national healthcare delivery system.
Bloom Public Health concept was born from the need to create strategic and operational solutions at the African
level for public health problems, and particularly in the pharmaceutical sector.

Women and girls, adolescents and young people face several difficulties accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) as well as Gender Based Violence (GBV) services in the country.
Thus, there is a dire need to improve and expand these services following their vulnerability amidst COVID-19 pandemic in tandem with the activities of the "Engaging with Civil Society Organisations to reduce the impact of COVID-19" project funded by the One UN Basket Fund.
As part of measures to enhance access to life-saving healthcare information and essential health services, UNFPA Nigeria today launched the TEXT4LIFE virtual app and the Youth COVID-19 Handout- "Adapting to the new Normal"
The UNFPA Text4Life service is a phone-based innovative message service system that is designed to establish real-time communication between callers, primary healthcare centres and responders in the healthcare delivery system in Lagos, Ogun, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Akwa-Ibom, Gombe, Sokoto, Borno and the FCT.
Through this two way-communication process, TETX4LIFE technology will also support the reporting of suspected cases of COVID-19 infection, Gender Based Violence (GB) incidents and other Sexual and Reproductive Health Problems for prompt and professional clinical intervention and management.
To ensure unhindered access and minimal downtime, another feature of the system is an uninterrupted power supply source, supported by a central database server.
The app is available on a USSD platform and each session is unique, identifiable and programmable. TEXT4LIFE services are compatible on feature phones as well as the most complicated of smartphones without any data compromise.
Prospective users can use the unique code *347*161# to register and create a confidential report on the platform.
UNFPA is also launching a Handout for Youths on COVID-19: COVID-19 Adapting to the New Normal. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore some of the persistent challenges young people face and the need for youth inclusion in programming.
This handout would complement all efforts to ensure young persons have adequate knowledge about COVID-19 to be able to adapt to the new normal. Developed and produced in a format that is easily understood by young persons in both formal and informal settings, it is expected to be widely disseminated.
It has sections on debunking myths and misconceptions, symptoms and signs of COVID-19 and preventive measures against its transmission.

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages, experts say it has further underscored the need for increased effort and innovative approaches towards ensuring health security in the country, as well as attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
The experts said doing so would also improve the country's health system and indices.
UHC means ensuring people have access to quality health services without suffering financial hardship.
Over 70 per cent of Nigerians pay their health bills from their little incomes thereby making it difficult for many to access healthcare.
It is our purpose to build safety and health for all the time, so that more people can enjoy health and ensure security.

TOKYO -- Adm. John Aquilino, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, met with Japan's top echelon on Tuesday as he made his first overseas trip since assuming the post at the end of April.
During his 15-minute meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the two men expressed their strong opposition to China's unilateral attempts to alter the status quo in the East China Sea.
Aquilino and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, during their meeting at the Defense Ministry. The admiral also sat down with Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Gen. Koji Yamazaki, chief of the Self-Defense Forces Joint Staff.
The red carpet treatment for the new regional commander, including the visit to the prime minister's office, reflected the importance Tokyo places on the Japan-U.S. alliance.
Aquilino was accompanied by Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider, the commander of U.S. Forces Japan, in the meeting with Suga. The two sides discussed the importance of reducing the hosting burden on the people of Okinawa Prefecture through the realignment of U.S. Forces Japan, while maintaining the alliance's deterrence capabilities.
Suga expressed his desire to further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance and jointly pursue a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Aquilino called the alliance "the cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific," and said the U.S. remains "absolutely committed to working alongside Japan and other like-minded countries to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific where all nations can thrive and prosper."
"It was important that I visit Japan as part of my first overseas trip to listen and learn from our allies about their security concerns in the region," he said.
Suga and Aquilino also exchanged views on the latest developments in North Korea.
In the meeting with Motegi, the two sides reaffirmed that the realignment of U.S. Forces Japan will move steadily ahead. This includes the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from a densely populated part of Okinawa to a less-crowded area in the prefecture -- the Henoko portion of the city of Nago -- and the transfer of some Marines to Guam.
Motegi said that for a stable stationing of American troops in Japan, the understanding and cooperation of the local community are crucial. He requested that U.S. military activity in Japan be conducted in a safe manner, conscious of the impact on the local communities, and that the Japanese side would like to cooperate closely with the U.S. to respond to any incidents or accidents smoothly.
Ahead of the meetings, Aquilino placed a wreath at a memorial to fallen troops.
A graduate of the elite Navy Fighter Weapons School, known as "Top Gun," Aquilino has piloted "the F-14 Tomcat, three different variants of the F-18 Hornet, the F-16 Falcon, and more," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said when introducing him as the new Indo-Pacific commander in April.
During his March 23 confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Aquilino outlined the importance of the command.
"The Indo-Pacific is the most consequential region for America's future and remains the priority theater for the United States," he said. "Residing here are four of the five security challenges identified in the Department of Defense: China, Russia, North Korea and violent extremist organizations."
On the possibility of China taking action in the Taiwan Strait, Aquilino did not second his predecessor Adm. Philip Davidson's assessment that it could happen in the next six years. But he did say: "My opinion is this problem is much closer to us than most think," and the U.S. has to enhance its deterrence capabilities "in the near term, and with urgency."
Aquilino heads to South Korea next where he will meet with senior government officials to "reaffirm the United States’ ironclad commitment to the security of the Republic of Korea," the Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement.

WASHINGTON — The White House commitment to ship millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines abroad has generated diplomatic and logistical challenges for administration officials to untangle as more countries seek U.S. assistance to overcome dire vaccine shortages.
Since President Joe Biden announced this month that 80 million shots would be shipped abroad by the end of June, the White House has yet to send out any of the doses because of a variety of hurdles from logistical to regulatory. In the meantime, infections are surging in countries from Haiti to Japan, which struggle with organizational challenges and have only a small fraction of the doses they need.
Biden announces export of Covid doses: U.S. to be ‘the arsenal of vaccines for the rest of the world’
MAY 18, 202103:01
With demand for the shots waning and half of adults fully vaccinated, the U.S. has the excess supply to use for vaccine diplomacy. About 70 million doses of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have yet to be administered, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But determining where those doses should go and getting them where they need to be is a herculean task, said a person familiar with the process.
The federal government has been sending out doses as soon as they leave manufacturing plants to tens of thousands of retail pharmacies, vaccination centers and community health clinics across the country. That means there isn't a central place where millions of doses are stored and can readily be packed up and put on planes.
White House Covid-19 coordinator Andy Slavitt said Wednesday that the U.S. is trying to move to a "tighter distribution system" so the federal government can keep better track of doses and export any additional ones.
There is also the challenge of transporting tens of millions of doses around the globe, ensuring that there are enough planes and making sure that the doses are properly stored and that the countries receiving them have the infrastructure to refrigerate and distribute them, an administration official said.
The official said the administration should have an update in the coming days on where some of the doses are headed.
Another potential big problem is getting Food and Drug Administration authorization for the AstraZeneca vaccine. Of the 80 million doses pledged so far, 60 million were to have come from AstraZeneca — but the administration says it won't release those doses until the vaccine has been cleared by U.S. regulators, even though it has been approved for use in other countries.
The FDA review process has been delayed by issues with AstraZeneca's study data, and it is unclear when — or even whether — AstraZeneca's vaccine will get the green light.
Then there is the delicate diplomatic balance of trying to determine which countries should get doses and how many as numerous key allies grapple with shortages. It's an issue Biden is likely to be pressed about when he meets with world leaders next month at the G7 gathering in the U.K., his first major moment on the international stage.
While Biden has said the U.S. won't use the doses to secure favors from other countries, he acknowledged that the move is a valuable diplomatic tool to counter China's and Russia's efforts to gain influence with their vaccines.
"There's a lot of talk about Russia and China influencing the world with vaccines. We want to lead the world with our values, with this demonstration of our innovation, ingenuity and the fundamental decency of the American people," Biden said in announcing the move this month. "Just as in World War II America was the arsenal of democracy, in the battle against Covid-19 pandemic our nation's going to be the arsenal of vaccines for the rest of the world."
After a recent meeting with the president of South Korea, where just about 3 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated, Biden said the U.S. would provide 500,000 doses to vaccinate service members who work with U.S. troops stationed in the country.

More than 150 people were missing and feared drowned in northwest Nigeria on Wednesday after an overloaded boat ferrying passengers to a market sank in the Niger River, local officials said.
The boat was travelling between central Niger state and Wara in north-west Kebbi state when it went down, National Inland Waterways Authority local manager Yusuf Birma told reporters.
“The boat capacity was not up to the 180 passengers it carried,” Birma said.
“As we speak, only 20 people have been rescued alive, four dead confirmed while the remaining 156 people are still missing and they are believed to be underwater.”
Another official had earlier said about 140 people were missing after the Wednesday morning disaster.
Boat tragedies are common on Nigerian waterways mostly due to overcrowding, bad weather and lack of maintenance, but Wednesday’s toll would be one of the deadliest recent accidents.
“The boat involved was a wooden boat which was old and very weak but these people (skippers) would not listen when we sensitised them to reduce the number of passengers they carry in their boats,” Birma said.
He said passengers were heading to a market in Malele in Borgu local government area of Niger state, when the boat sank an hour into the journey.
Local district administrator Abdullahi Buhari Wara earlier blamed the accident on overloading as the boat was meant to ferry no more than 80 passengers.
The vessel was also loaded with bags of sand from a goldmine, he said.
Early this month 30 people drowned when an overloaded boat capsized in Niger state.
The boat ferrying 100 local traders split into two after hitting a stump during a storm as they were returning from a local market, according to emergency officials.
The Niger is west Africa’s main river running in a crescent through Guinea to Nigeria’s Niger delta and is a key local trade route for some of the countries.

I am sorry to hear about this unfortunate incident. Things like this happen all the time in our country and overloading of people and poor safety of boats are issues we need to address urgently.

Public health security requires proactive and reactive measures to minimise the danger and impact of acute public health events.
As Nigeria continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has emphasised the importance of setting aside special funds for public health emergencies.
Mr Osinbajo, while speaking at the 4th annual legislative summit on health in Abuja on Monday, said such funds should only be utilised when a public health emergency is declared.
The summit is Themed "Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Health Security; Two Sides of a Coin for an Efficient Health System."
Represented by the Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, Mr Osinbajo said the COVID-19 pandemic had exposed the vulnerability of the country's health system and the importance of preparedness, diagnosis and response mechanism.
He noted that public health security requires proactive and reactive measures to minimise the danger and impact of acute public health events.
"One of such proactive steps was to ensure that there are funds set aside always and which can be made available whenever there was a public health emergency," he said.
Mr Osinbajo said the legislature must ensure that adequate budgetary allocation is made for preparedness activities.
He noted that reactive and response activities must include ensuring the continuity of routine services such as immunization, family planning and keeping sight on other diseases like malaria.
About legislative network
The organizer of the summit said the objective of setting up the Legislative Network was\to effectively leverage statutory functions of the legislature in Nigeria for improved health financing, toward effective and efficient utilisation of the resources for UHC.
The Network, according to the legislators, consists primarily of legislators (National and States) with members of the Executive Arm of Government (State and National) and non-state actors, collaborating to provide institutional contexts focused on the health sector.
It is convened annually to provide a platform for legislators to confer towards addressing matters pertaining to the resilience of the health sector to provide equitable, quality care for citizens.
Adequate funding
A Senior Health Specialist at the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group,
Olumide Okunola, said the UHC cannot be achieved without adequate funding.
Mr Okunola stated that issues around public health financing and institutional structures should be prioritised in the country.
This, he said, will ensure the country is prepared for future epidemics.
"We must set up institutional structures to combat pandemics because COVID-19 will not be the last," he said.
In his remarks, Mr Mamora said participants need to constantly remind themselves on the principles of UHC in terms of availability, accessibility and affordability of health care
He explained that UHC and Health Security were like six and half a dozen, as both complement each other to achieve the same goal.
"The 3As of UHC are Availability of care, Accessibility of care and Affordability to all particularly the vulnerable groups- the elderly, those with disabilities, women and children, without hardship," he said.
"In order to make UHC a reality, there is need for partnership, collaboration and synergy at both horizontal and vertical levels between the executive and the legislature."
He said the legislature must put in place better funding for public health issues through appropriations.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Oloriegbe, the chairman, Senate Committee on Health, said the purpose of the summit was to review the state of Nigeria's health system in the light of emerging pandemic to strengthen health security.
"We have to ensure that all health needs of people are met with sufficient quality without leading to financial hardship," he said.

We must attach importance to medical and health care. I support the decision to set aside special funds for public health emergencies.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has abolished the “homogenous examination” of containers, as it insisted that all containers must be physically examined before leaving the ports.
This was disclosed by NCS via a circular with reference number EI&I/2021/circular No.008, titled New Rules on Homogenous Examination, a copy of which was sighted by SHIPS & PORTS.

ABUJA, Nigeria— Nigeria has reported the Indian variant of the coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), but there are fears across the country that Africa's most populous nation, which bears several similarities to India, could become the next Covid-19 hotspot.

Like India, Nigeria's main cities are massively populated and, like the South Asian nation, Nigeria suffers poor access to coronavirus vaccines and is experiencing a huge health crisis. Across the West African nation, hospitals already face huge burdens as alarming numbers of cases of infectious diseases and common sicknesses like malaria and HIV/AIDS are coupled with lousy health infrastructure and low numbers of medical workers.

According to the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), there are only 40,000 doctors in a country of around 200 million. Nigeria's doctor-patient ratio is among the lowest in the developing world, with four physicians looking after 10,000 patients, a report by the WHO, which also revealed that the country has only five hospital beds for every 10,000 people, noted.

"The country is nowhere near being equipped enough to deal with the same kind of situation we've seen in India," Dr Collins Anyachi of the Department of Family Medicine, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital in southern Nigeria, told TRT World. "If such an unfortunate situation befalls Nigeria, it's health system would collapse in no time."

Across the country, according to the most recent statistics from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), 165,901 coronavirus infections and 2,067 deaths have been reported since the start of the pandemic. But virtually all these numbers are undercounted since testing has been very limited, and parts of the country — notably the northeast and northwest — are experiencing insurgent attacks that make any public health initiatives almost impossible to undertake. In the midst of this violence, the virus could be spreading without anyone even realising.

Nigeria has only partially vaccinated one percent of its population and as the crisis in India intensifies, they are likely to miss out on their next shipment of vaccines from India, through COVAX.
Nigeria has only partially vaccinated one percent of its population and as the crisis in India intensifies, they are likely to miss out on their next shipment of vaccines from India, through COVAX. (AP)
"Many people in the northeast and northwest regions will be more worried about surviving attacks by armed militants than whether or not they've come in contact with someone who has Covid," Okon Nya, a prominent Nigerian journalist and security analyst told TRT World.

"Nigeria is not just in a challenging situation, it may be about to face a disaster."

It is still not clear how far the Indian variant (B.1.617.2) has spread in Nigeria, as health authorities don't seem to have comprehensive figures, but with the new detection, there are fears that if the disease gets into the country's poorest neighborhoods, like India, overcrowding and very poor sanitation could lead to extremely quick community transmission.

Vaccine woes

What's even worse for Nigeria is its abysmal vaccination efforts, with only 1 percent of its population partially vaccinated (India has fared slightly better, fully vaccinating 3 percent of people in the country), and perhaps only a handful fully vaccinated. The African nation, unlike India with a couple of vaccine-making companies, has no industry to manufacture a shot.

Nigeria is one of many developing nations relying on vaccines made in India through the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access program known as COVAX.

The joint venture between the WHO, the Center for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation (CEPI), Gavi, and the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was set up in April 2020 to pre-purchase large quantities of vaccines from the major manufacturers and then give them out globally in such a way that each country received an equitable share based on the size of their population. But the devastating nature of the pandemic in India has ensured that the country is unable to meet demands overseas.

At the start of March, COVAX shipped nearly 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), from India's largest city of Mumbai to Nigeria's capital, Abuja. Since then, no new vaccines have arrived in Nigeria.

"COVAX is undersupplied," UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, said in a statement at the start of the week. “Among the global consequences of the situation in India, a global hub for vaccine production, is a severe reduction in vaccines available to COVAX."

Security concerns are compounding fears in Nigeria that even if more vaccines are procured, the security situation makes it near impossible to hold vaccination drives in areas vulnerable to attacks from groups like Boko Haram or the so-called Islamic State.
Security concerns are compounding fears in Nigeria that even if more vaccines are procured, the security situation makes it near impossible to hold vaccination drives in areas vulnerable to attacks from groups like Boko Haram or the so-called Islamic State. (AP)
A drastic rise in demand for coronavirus vaccines in India ensured that 140 million doses intended to be distributed in May to low-income countries, including Nigeria, were unsent. The problem doesn't end there.

"Another 50 million doses are likely to be missed in June," said Fore, who maintained that "vaccine nationalism, limited production capacity and lack of funding, is why the roll-out of Covid vaccines is so behind schedule."

Multi-dimensional

Added to Nigeria's Covid fears is the worsening security situation in large parts of northern Nigeria. Violent extremist groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have become even more deadly in recent months and are expanding their operations beyond the northeast of the country.

Criminal attacks have risen alarmingly in the northwest and herdsmen from Nigeria’s Fulani tribe, who have constantly been at loggerheads with farmers in the north-central region, are believed to be behind the increased killings in agrarian communities in large parts of northern Nigeria.

"Even if vaccines become available for everyone, there's going to be the problem of how to administer to people in conflict areas that are so unsafe and hard for medical workers to access," said Dr Anyachi, who has worked as a physician in conflict-hit north-central Nigeria in the past.

"The problem isn't just acquiring these vaccines but ensuring that a vast majority of the country gets vaccinated."

For many, if the looming crisis adds to the mounting security problems Nigeria is facing, the country could be heading for a catastrophe never seen anywhere in the world.

"The armed forces, which, in a pandemic like this, can be deployed to assist with logistics and setting up of mass vaccination sites, are already overstretched in the fight against insurgents," said Nya, who's also the head of Nigeria's leading media consulting firm, Tre Gong.

"If this new Indian coronavirus variant begins to spread like wildfire, Nigeria will be in deep trouble."

Di Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) don order di suspension of receiving and processing new passport applications inside all passport offices all ova di kontri till June 1st 2021.

Di comptroller General of Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede announce di suspension wen im dey decorate NIS senior officers wey dem promote.

Oga Babandede use di opportunity to announce di mata.

Why Nigeria Immigration Service suspend Issuance of Passport?
According to di statement by Sunday James wey be di Service Public Relations Officer for Comptroller General of Immigration, di stopping of di passport processing na to clear di existing backlog wey dey ground.

According to di CG of di service, dem wan use di time to allow for clearance of every Passport application wey dem don receive before 17th of May 2021.

E add say dem go send Task Force to Passport offices to clear di backlog.

Di Nigeria Immigration Service dey expect di new passport regime to begin on di 1st of June 2021, for delivery period of 6 weeks from di date of submission of applications if all di documents wey applicant submit dey complete.

WASHINGTON - A top U.S. health official said Sunday she is “cautiously optimistic” that the U.S. is on the path to controlling the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s premature to declare victory,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the “Fox News Sunday” show. “We have to remain humble.”
But she added, “I am cautiously optimistic that we’re at a good place right now, that cases are continuing to come down.”
Walensky offered her broad assessment of the U.S. fight against coronavirus days after her agency said the 123 million fully vaccinated people in the U.S. — about one-third of the population — no longer have to wear face masks, a significant milestone in returning the country to some sense of business and social normalcy.
“Science allows us to say fully vaccinated people can take off their masks,” she said. But she added that the U.S. needs to be “wary of new variants. We do need to be cautious.”
She said those who have been fully inoculated are “not at risk of severe disease or hospitalization from COVID-19. If you are not vaccinated, you are not safe.”
She urged unvaccinated Americans to get the necessary shots, saying that 90% of the country is now within 8 kilometers of a place where shots are being administered. Walensky said from 1.5 million to 2 million shots are being administered in the U.S. each day, down from a peak of more than 3 million.
But millions of people for one reason or another say they have no intention of getting a shot, skepticism that could curb the country’s overall success in combating the infectious disease.
Even as fully vaccinated people begin to remove their masks in the U.S., high-profile cases of breakthrough infections among the fully vaccinated have raised concerns. The comedian Bill Maher and eight members of the New York Yankee organization, all fully vaccinated, have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to reports. 
Walensky told ABC’s “This Week” that health officials are investigating the Yankees situation, but added that of the eight, seven were asymptomatic. The eighth was a mild case. All were detected through routine testing, which isn’t happening in other populations. 
“This is the vaccine working,” she said. “This means that you didn't get infected — or you didn't get a severe infection. You didn't require hospitalization. You didn't require death, and most likely those people were not transmitting to other people.” 
The U.S. is now allowing children as young as 12 to get vaccinated. Walensky told CNN that she hopes that by the end of 2021 health experts will be able to determine that it is safe to vaccinate even younger children.
In the meantime, she said “those kids should continue to wear masks.”
She said the CDC will soon issue guidelines for safe coronavirus protocols at summer camps for children.
The U.S. has recorded nearly 586,000 coronavirus deaths and nearly 33 million cases, with both figures more than in any other country, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Public health officials said on Monday that by mid-to-late July, Los Angeles County may achieve anti-coronavirus herd immunity among adults and the oldest adolescents.
Herd immunity, sometimes called community immunity, occurs when a sufficient number of people have been vaccinated or natural immunity has been acquired to protect a larger population from the virus.

Covid-19 lockdown and curfew go return from Tuesday midnight 11 May, 2021 across Nigeria
Federal Goment for di west African nation call am Phase Four of restriction of movement to reduce coronavirus spread.
Nigerian Presidential Steering Committee for Covid-19 na im make di announcement on Monday for Abuja.
Di restriction go cover recreational activities and events and mass gatherings for events of any kind go get maximum of fifty pipo.
Di goment also order shut down event centres, bars and clubs dem to close down till further notice.
Why Nigeria reintroduce Covid-19 lockdown?
For statement wey di PSC release dem say na ontop review of some issues make dme see need to increase restrictions.
Di rising trend of coronavirus cases for several kontris and di high risk of surge for Africa.
Delay in global supplies of di vaccine to di kontri even though Nigeria don start di vaccine rollout.
Pipo no dey hear word and no dey use mask or wash hands, event to continue to dey social distance sef dem no gree do.


This is good. Blockades and curfews can effectively control the development of Covid-19. This is also a helpless thing, and we must abide by it.

We are told that God Almighty finished the creation spectacle on the sixth day when He finished with the specimen we call man today. I’m afraid we don’t have the knack for such exactitude, nor the opportunity to recline, and watch the mess we have turned the Nigerian creation debacle to. Today, we’ll attempt to exhaust our frustrations on the sixth element we must deal with to emerge as, and maintain a great nation, with people of like visions and goals.
When we lament about our atrocious and conscienceless politics, we often forget that it’s senior comrade is amorphous, systemic and thus infinitely more dangerous to public health; therefore more difficult to pull down. Public Service. And by extension, Infrastructure (provision, maintenance and assault). I will explain.
The recruitment, deployment and promotions of civil servants have for long been shrouded in secrecy. Though we call them civil servants, unfortunately, many we meet in our interactions with government agencies have no streak of civility in them, nor a strain of stewardship. Our tottering bloated system swagger under the self-serving, age-old dictum which insists that the civil service shall remain in the shades plugging away at the wheels of progress and public administration.
This was inculcated into us by the typically tight-lipped British colonial administration. We have now matured into leveraging that cloak of anonymity to pervert and purport all sorts of criminal activities, corrupt agendas, uncivil bastardisation and poorly thought-out policies. Consequently, we have turned the civil service into some sort of shambolic cartel, and diabolic cult of intrigues and immobility.
The structures that were designed to keep the wheels of government in forward motion unobtrusively, while top officials in government may change according times and mandates, have grown massively lecherous, indolent, political, divisive, moored in schemes and counter-schemes that have no bearing on their operational directives.
When some young folks struggle to enter the public service after their one-year national youth service corps programme, in most cases, they are lured, not by passion to be a part of quality and prompt delivery of service; rather they are driven by the prodigious opportunity that public service provides for almost anyone to collect a steady monthly salary, and still scavenge for lucrative businesses which benefit him 100%, and the government may burn for all he cares. They call it ‘side-hustles’.
They see a future where, when well entrenched in the system, they can spend months in the Caribbeans, and still collect salaries and perquisites as if they are “on their seats” doing the nation’s work. They see a future assured of cuts and handouts from desperate contractors and others threatened by one wooly-headed government policy or the other. They see a mountain of opportunities and largesse which, with deft application of banal social nuances – nepotism, tribalism, religiosity and such cancers that have held us down as a nation – can produce mansions, exquisite possessions and such expensive delicacies of living that no civil service salary can explain, and thus must be well hidden from ‘evil’ eyes.
While civil service is largely seen as a corrupt indolent spectacle bedeviling our prospect of a great nationhood, the actions of the civil populace to public Infrastructure are well nigh ungodly and reprehensible. No matter how expensive it is to acquire a particular amenity or structure; how much pain and frustrations the community had endured before the provision of such amenity; and the obvious losses when such amenity fails to work, are you surprised when days after its installation, several parts and main frames of the facility have been yanked off, crushed, or simply stolen! Yet, these looters may be the first comers at the community’s news stands to lament the looting of the national or state treasury by one politician or the other.
We steal everything good and useful; the ones we cannot remove we destroy. There is a spirit tormenting some of our folks who are caught on CCTV removing public lights, traffic lights, alloy railings of bridges, and sidewalks…it’s not just poverty. How does a nation become great when the common man must steal or damage infrastructures erected to alleviate his conditions, and that of others – simply because he feels a need to imitate those in power who steal the funds that have delayed the provision of these infrastructures, or frustrated the provision of better and more widespread infrastructures in good time?
The circle of self-hate and the dogma of snakes feasting on his own kind have led us to this moment where our infrastructures, which are grossly inadequate, are pilfered and vandalized by our compatriots, and we simply shake our heads, and ‘waka pass’. How can you grow, in any area of life, when you ceaselessly swallow your profit, and more, even as you labour day and night to get more sales? A vicious self-devastation.
The seventh element has a number of similarities to the one above. What do we hold as National Ethos? What Values do we deliberately infuse in our children? What informs our Succession dynamics? A nation that runs on auto-pilot, winging its ways through challenges and upheavals, makes an easy candidate for self-combustion.
We build ethos by leveraging on the great works and words of our founding fathers. We solicit the emotional connections with great and redoubtable ancestors, tantalizing the impressionable minds of our children with legends, myths and anecdotes of their great and incredible exploits. Do we even still teach history and civic studies in Nigerian schools? If we don’t, we need our heads examined. If the policy has been reversed, the enablers of that idiotic policy should be in jail.
It starts from the kindergarten experience…to the nursery and primary…the home
environment…the teaching modules and expertise for each grade (whether public or private)…the actions and examples of government functionaries, and other cadres of leadership… Several elements must combine positively to build and flourish with our national ethos that will filter into and form a block of unshakable corpus of beliefs and convictions as our children grow up. Perhaps it’s too late for the much older generations; the opportunity is there, even now, to rededicate our passions and re-evaluate the values we unconsciously subscribe to.
When we find excuses for a pedophile simply because an elaborate scheme was devised to catch him in action as an evidence of his perfidy; and we begin to castigate the victims, and make asinine suggestions imputing extraneous nonsense (it was a romance gone sour; why tempt a man you strongly suspect, the set-up was to destroy his career; and the classic spinelessness – ‘nobody is above mistake’!)
Friends, sexually or sensually violating a seven-year old, even if it didn’t start three years ago, is not a ‘mistake’. It is foolish, uncontrollably, depraved exploitation and violent violation of innocence. It deserves uniformed and severe condemnations, the strictest application of extant laws, and drastic deterrence to others who are in such dastard business, or may contemplate it in future; that this nation abhors reprobate behaviours, and any deviant sympathies should be interrogated sternly.
That is one of countless steps towards building a great nation… Are we really ready? We continue with the seventh element next time.

As the world entered 2021, the covid-19 pandemic began a new phase, one dominated by worries over emerging variants. But the way of detecting these threats has not been standardised—even in the UK, where genomic sequencing is relatively frequent, only 5-10% of covid-19 positive cases were being sequenced at the start of the year.1
The spotlight on sequencing has highlighted inequalities in global capacity. Many countries in Africa do not perform sequencing themselves, and those that do only do so on a small scale. Genomic sequencing requires expertise, machinery, software, reagents, and funding. Over the past year, as African countries grappled with scaling up basic testing capacity for covid-19, it hasn’t been a high priority.
But as variants such as B.1.351—first identified in South Africa and which now accounts for some 90% of the country’s covid-19 cases—led to growing concern, there are worries that the lack of sequencing capacity will leave the continent unable to spot and stop variant outbreaks before they fuel a new wave of infections.
Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country, has sequenced and shared 0.03% of its reported covid-19 cases (versus, at the time of writing, nearly 2% for the US, 42% for Singapore, and 48% for Australia). As of 14 February 2021, there were around 55 different lineages of SARS-CoV-2 known to be circulating in Nigeria, and changing rapidly.2 According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), these strains provide evidence of multiple introductions of the virus into the country from different parts of the world and add to proof of community transmission in different parts of Nigeria.
“Genomic sequencing is crucial at this point to understand circulating strains and their impact on vaccine efficacy, disease transmission, and severity,” says Christian Happi, director of the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) in Ede, south west Nigeria. “We need to keep sequencing so that we can see exactly how the virus is mutating and spreading.”
ACEGID is a reference laboratory for the joint World Health Organization and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Covid-19 Genomic Sequencing Network. Happi’s team sequenced the first coronavirus samples in sub-Saharan Africa within 72 hours of diagnosis and identified two new variants—B.1.5.2.5, first found in Nigeria, and B.1.1.7, first identified in the UK.3
Chikwe Ihekweazu, director general of NCDC, says sequencing has a key role as Nigeria begins vaccination—in March it received 3.9 million doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine from the Covax initiative. “If the effectiveness of vaccines is affected by the evolution of new variants, we have to be able to detect them. Genomic sequencing, linked to good surveillance data, is one way of doing this,” he says. This is especially important in large countries like Nigeria, which sees a lot of movement between regions as well as a high influx of travellers from other countries.
There are only three institutions in Nigeria with the capacity to do genomic sequencing—ACEGID, the NCDC, and the Nigeria Institute for Medical Research—Ihekweazu told The BMJ. Genomic surveillance is not something you can set up overnight, he says, it’s “resource and knowledge intensive and requires skills such as sequencing, bioinformatics, and data analysis.”
Despite financial limitations, ACEGID is sequencing 20% of all SARS-CoV-2 samples in Nigeria to gain insights into the state of the pandemic in the country. Ihekweazu says he expects the three institutions to sequence 100 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples each week and carry out routine analysis of genomic data to support the NCDC’s public health response.

THE Federal Government on Wednesday said it would ensure the safety and protection of every health workers from infectious diseases.
The government also called on Nigerians to prevent diseases by washing their hands with soap and water to prevent infection.
The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, represented by the Director (Prevention and Management Department), Dr Chinwe Ochu, made this known during a campaign to mark this year’s Hand Hygiene Day in Abuja.
According to him, COVID-19 pandemic has taught the world a greater lesson on public health and safety.
He saod, “We are committed to the safety and protection of all health workers, especially those on the frontline.”


Not only should the medical staff be protected, more people should be aware of relevant protection knowledge. Medical staff are our life-saving straw, and we should take protective measures even more.

Nnamdi Nwokika, an economist, seasoned marketer and former director at the Nigerian Communications Commission was among the brains behind the manufacture of an alcohol-based disinfectant, Kilox that was recently unveiled by the Minister of state for Health, Dr. Olorunmibe Mamora in Abuja. In this interview with Onyebuchi Ezigbo, he said the initiative was part of the efforts to eradicate COVID-19 virus by promoting the hygiene consciousness of Nigerians
Why Kilox?
Kilox is a disinfectant that kills 99 per cent of germs and germs in this case for us is fungus, bacteria and parasitise. Our brand Kilox was unveiled last month by the Minister of State for Health.
Kilox is our own contribution to the hygiene consciousness of our country, of our people and that has become further necessitated by the fact that the pandemic. A pandemic which in the best circumstances could be controlled with good personal hygiene and some experts have said we are able to have an effective, safe and good hygiene that 50 per cent of germs would be taken care of and I agree with them and what is that hygiene that we are talking about?
Simple things that we have always done but never really made it a way of life. Wash your hands with soap, disinfect your hands with alcohol based wipes like Kilox, social distancing, wearing a face mask and all the things that can keep you away from the virus.
There may be other means or ways that people can get it so when you do things at that point I believe you will be less in contact with the devastation a virus like COVID can give to you because you would have been immune, you would have had some immunity than someone who has left himself just there with some bacteria and hidden virus in the body which can now be activated and made more dangerous to the human health.
We are honestly very happy that we are making this contribution to raising the hygiene consciousness so that our people can be safer, our people can be alive and our people can enjoy what’s best for them rather than being ravished by a pandemic that we believe by the grace of God can be terminated through some means.
I was talking about good personal hygiene; if you have been keeping good personal hygiene, you know our bodies have natural immunities from some flu, some cough but when you begin to inhale certain bacteria and make yourself available that when people sneeze you take in, your body will fight it, your body has doses natural immunities that can help you fight it.
Tomorrow you expose yourself again, you get infected once again and your body will fight it until when the external things that come into us overwhelms the natural immunity that is when we fall ill but when you are keeping personal hygiene by keeping away from people who are sneezing and droplets by using our wipes because after this interview we are going to wipe this office and
I am sure you would have noticed I was going back and forth in the office, I wiped here and I would wipe it for the next person that would come. So you can rest assured that the environment where we are is fully disinfected. Because if it is not touching our tables with your hands, you touching our door knobs and everything, you can carry a virus and without knowing rub it on yourself or rub your nose or eyes and you will get it.
As you get any bacteria or any external thing into your body, it is struggling and fighting with your natural immune system and over time if they continue coming to you, they will overwhelm your immune system and make you sick. So what I meant is that by using our wipes you keep your immunity steady without having to take anything incase you get anything that overwhelms your immunity you are better as a person than someone whose immunity is at the lowest level.
Are you impressed by the way Nigerians have responded to the public health advisory on non pharmaceutical protocols?
Am I impressed? Yes! Because we came from a zero level. I am impressed that the awareness is there. Am I satisfied that what we have done is good enough? No! When you claim that everything is well you are exposing your people to further minor viruses because people will drop their guards. I thank the effort of government all over the world even in America in the last regime they had the same issues because they felt that the former president wasn’t encouraging people enough because he wasn’t wearing mask in most public places and everybody is doing their bit to make sure the awareness is there on the pandemic and that we should do everything within our human effort to show that we keep the virus away.
While the scientists will continue to get the vaccine and eventually the cure that will exterminate the virus. Am I happy? Yes I am happy that the awareness has been created but am I satisfied; no because no one can be satisfied with all the efforts that has been made because it is a continuous thing and if you feel satisfied then you are leaving yourself vulnerable.
Do you think that having natural immunity can make someone to avoid taking the COVID-19 vaccine or to feel that it is no longer necessary to receive vaccine jab after all?
No, because the vaccine is also trying to boost your immunity from any kind of infection. All vaccines have the tendency of having known the current virus like chicken pox and all the things that have happened, they developed a vaccine that is more powerful and more potent than that current disease but the vaccine we have right now hasn’t been proven because no one can say the vaccine eliminates completely the corona virus because the corona virus has all kinds of mutation because you make a vaccine that takes care of this kind of virus and next we are hearing of another mutation so this vaccine may not be 100 per cent effective.
What should I say? Of course people should take the vaccine, this scientific or empirical label vaccine. We also have all kinds of remedies that people have tried if you like call it traditional or local, people take a lot of vitamin C, orange juice, ginger, garlic etc. and they feel it has some protection against a flu and it has worked for them in the past but what I am saying it isn’t something you can make a categorical statement because this human body is so different and that is why when they make a vaccine they have tested it on different kinds of human beings and they now come out to say this vaccine works for everybody. When you talk about the natural or traditional ones, what works for A may not necessarily work for B but as long as when B takes it he doesnt have side effects then it is available for everybody to be taken.
What do you think is the problem with our country’s inability to come up indigenous remedy to deal with the COVID-19 virus?
I have followed the attempts for a vaccine to be made locally and I have read also where government had looked at it and tried to assist. The pharmacists and the government may know the problem but I don’t know what the issues are and it would be very uncharitable of me to comment because I don’t have all the facts but vaccine is something that takes some time to work on and I know we have intelligent minds and highly qualified people who are interested in going into vaccine manufacture or discovery in our country and I am sure they are doing their bit they would be able to say what their challenges are and my guess would be that funding,, resources and the issue of scrutiny of what they have done may also be the problem but I can’t conclude.
Has your product received any form of endorsement from the approving agency, NAFDAC?
Our product went through regulatory scrutiny from NAFDAC and NAFDAC for quite some time until they approved the product and our product is a straight forward product that requires you have a disinfected life and when you have them at the right proportion then you wouldn’t have any problem with getting approval. We were lucky and NAFDAC approved our product and we didn’t have much challenge in getting our product approved by NAFDAC.
Do you have the capacity to meet the demands of Nigerians?
Yes we do. Let me also clear something, our manufacturing plant isn’t here but in terms of the name, it is trademarked and all the ingredients we are using to make this product is approved by NAFDAC and we are manufacturing outside the country and NAFDAC has approved everything and they have inspected our facility but it is not produced locally but as soon as we get critical mass in terms of volume, it is a very straight forward product that can be made, it doesn’t need or require high tech in terms of machinery or factory space to manufacture our product. At the right time of course we can produce here.

As India continues to set a new global record for a rise in daily coronavirus cases for a fifth straight day, while deaths from COVID-19 also jumped by an all-time high over the last 24 hours, the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 (PSC) has warned Nigerians to brace up for a third COVID-19 wave.
On Sunday, India reported 346,786 new cases of COVID-19 for the previous 24 hours, with 2,624 deaths – the world’s highest daily toll since the pandemic began last year. Overall, nearly 190,000 people have died from COVID in the country, while more than 16.6 million have been infected.
The PSC warning came as the Rapid-Response initiative group of the Academy of Medicine Specialties (AMS) stated that to avoid a third wave of COVID-19 in the country, the Federal Government should close international airports to all flights for at least two weeks.

The federal government will supply renewable energy to 304 primary health centers and schools in Nigeria. The initiative is part of the economic sustainability agenda. According to the Minister of State in charge of Energy, Saleh Mamman (photo), the project will be implemented in six geopolitical zones and will be completed in 12 months.
He added that the initiative entitled "Energy for all - Mass rural electrification" will support the recovery and economic growth plan in order to mitigate the impact of Covid-19. It will use hybrid solar solutions for around 100 health centers, but also for isolation and treatment centers for the disease.
One of the objectives of the project is also to facilitate access to energy in unserved and underserved areas of the country. The ambition of the federal government is that 30% of the total electricity supply come from renewable sources.

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Plateau Council recently organised training for its members to enlighten them about the COVID-19 vaccine. The sensitisation became necessary because of the conspiracy theories popularised since the vaccine was imported.The training designed to equip journalists as information managers with appropriate information to properly educate the people was facilitated by the state House of Assembly Committee on Health.
Dispelling the myths
Mr Daniel Listick, chairman of the committee dispelled the rumour that the vaccine has chips and changes DNA composition.“The vaccine does not contain chips as people are saying. People say the vaccine will change their DNA and cause infertility, there is nothing like that. All these myths are not true, “ he said.He said building the capacity of journalists in partnership with the House would play a significant role in improving their reporting skills in disseminating appropriate information to the public on the disease.“After taking the vaccine, I was okay, but others may have reactions; however, there are experts on ground who know what to do”, he said.Also, various speakers at the launch of the vaccine debunked the conspiracy theory and appealed to the people to make themselves available.
Lalong reads riot act
Gov Simon Lalong said the conspiracy theories being propagated especially in the social media is aimed at discouraging people to accept the vaccine.According to him, he and his wife, his deputy, religious and traditional leaders took the vaccine to show example and dispel fears of various myths attached to it.“It is important to note that the vaccine has been approved by the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organisation, based on global clinical trials, involving 23,000 participants.“In addition, Nigerian regulators such as National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) evaluated the vaccines upon arrival in the country.“All of these evaluations have concluded that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective.“Let me reiterate that no one would be compelled to take the vaccine as the administration is totally voluntary.“However, I wish to remind our citizens that the law criminalising the denial of COVID-19 in Plateau state is still in force.“Therefore, those who want to engage in spreading conspiracy theories and mobilising others against taking the vaccine would not be allowed.“I want to reassure our people that as your governor, I will not subscribe to anything that would harm you or affect your well-being; rather, my number one priority is to ensure your safety and good health,“ he said.
The clergy lend their voice
Rev Fr Polycarp Lubo, the State chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) who spoke, said that those who had COVID-19 disease can testify of the hardship they experienced.He said that the arrival of the vaccine certified by NAFDAC would address the challenges posed by the scourge.“We should encourage those people who are doubting to come and receive the vaccine. I think vulnerable people should be considered first,’’ he said.Similarly, state chairman of Jama’atu Nasril Islam, Alhaji Muhammadu Muhammadu, said he received the vaccine to demonstrate leadership by example.He decried the proliferation of many misleading information on the vaccine and assured the government that leaders would continue to support their policies and programmes.Prof Edmund Banwat, the chief medical director, Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), said the vaccine administered to political leaders is a bold step to address the myths surrounding the vaccine and show it is safe.“If it is not safe, these political leaders would not avail themselves to take the vaccine. The vaccine is critical to end the pandemic, ‘’he said.Mr Williams Wadzingi, Plateau Coordinator, World Health Organisation (WHO), said enlightenment is critical to the success of the vaccination.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that as of Saturday morning, 225,640,460 doses of the coronavirus vaccine had been vaccinated in the United States, and 290,685,655 doses had been distributed.
More than a quarter of Americans (nearly 90 million people) have been fully vaccinated, and the supply is so large that some states have rejected the federal government’s planned delivery.
But in places like Honduras, Victor Guevara is still waiting. The 72-year-old Honduran lawyer wanted to know why the United States did not provide more help, especially when the supply of vaccines in the United States began to exceed demand and the doses approved for use in other parts of the world, but not in the United States, idle.
When talking about the situation in the motherland of Central America, Ms. Guevara said: "We live in a defenseless state at all levels."
Honduras received a trivial 59,000 doses of vaccine for its 10 million people. Similar vaccination gaps have also been found across Africa. The 1.3 billion people on the African continent and parts of Asia have received only 36 million doses of vaccine.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in response to questions about the export ban: "The United States is first and foremost an ambitious, effective and successful effort to vaccinate the American people."
In India, the situation is not ideal.
Milind Deora, a Mumbai politician in one of the hardest-hit cities, said: “By stocking vaccines and preventing the export of key raw materials needed to produce vaccines, the United States is undermining the India-US strategic partnership.”
J. Stephen Morrison, senior vice president and director of the Center for Global Health Policy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that as the United States shifts from scarce vaccines to large numbers, it has the opportunity to "significantly change the outcome of vaccines in the United States." . The next stage is due to the assets we have. "
Biden took office in January, when the virus was raging in the United States, and he responded cautiously to seeking help from abroad.
He concentrated most of the government's vaccination work in the country. He maintained an agreement reached by the Trump administration to require drugmakers that have received US assistance to develop or expand vaccine production to sell their first dose of drugs produced in the country to the US government.
The White House realizes that the rest of the world is watching. Last month, the United States shared 4 million doses of vaccine with neighboring countries Canada and Mexico, and in the past week, Biden stated that these countries will become targets for additional supplies. He also said that Central American countries can get help from the United States for vaccination, although officials have not elaborated on any specific plans.
The lack of global vaccine assistance in the United States has created opportunities for China and Russia. They have pledged to inject millions of doses of domestic vaccines into other countries, although production delays have hindered the delivery of certain supplies. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said this month that China opposes "vaccine nationalism" and that vaccines should become a global public interest.
The United States also faces criticism that it not only accumulates its own stocks, but also prevents other countries from using vaccines, including the use of laws that give Washington broad powers to direct private companies to meet defense needs. .
The 2020 annual report of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also attracted attention for the section "Combating the Harmful Effects in the Americas", which stated that the U.S. has persuaded Brazil not to buy Russian pills.
There are also concerns that the United States may link vaccine sharing with other diplomatic efforts. Washington provided 2.7 million AstraZeneca shots to the Arab League last month, the same day Mexico announced restrictions on its southern border crossing.
90 million people have been vaccinated, which sounds like a huge number, but compared to the number of people who died from the new crown in the United States, this is far from enough.

On Monday, the country lifted quarantine restrictions for travelers from the U.S., as well as those from the European Union, the U.K., Serbia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and non-EU members Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, which are part of a European travel pact, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Travelers from those countries will no longer be required to take part in a seven-day quarantine, which was previously required, as long as they have a COVID-19 vaccination certificate or a negative PCR test that was issued within the previous 72 hours, the Greek Civil Aviation Authority said, per the outlet.
These tourists, however, will still be required to follow Greece's lockdown restrictions, Reuters reported.
The AP added that visitors from the list of approved countries will be allowed entry into Greece through two border crossings and via airports in Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Chania, Rhodes, Kos, Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu.
According to CNN, the restriction lifted by Greece marks the first time that the nation will allow visitors from the U.S. since the country first entered lockdown back in March 2020.
Greece's Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis told the outlet that Greece "is taking these baby steps" which will lead to "the start of a gradual opening process that will lead to a full opening of tourism in Greece on May 14."
"During the weeks ahead we will be making adjustments," he added.
Theoharis also noted that "the same rules that are in force [for Greek citizens] will apply to everyone," to keep both citizens and non-citizens alike safe as the pandemic continues.
"It's important that people understand this. We are hoping things will be more and more liberalized as the vaccination programs throughout the world progress," he said. "Even if we have changes in the other direction, those changes will apply to everyone."
During the pandemic, many countries are still open, especially tourist cities, which need to accept tourists from all over the world. However, for the safety of people, it is necessary to impose quarantine restrictions on some countries with severe epidemics and not allow them to spread everywhere. virus.

BudgIT, a civic-tech organisation leading the advocacy for transparency and accountability in Nigeria, has raised concerns over the management of COVID-19 Fund in Nigeria.
In a research report on COVID-19 Fund Management titled “COVID-19 Fund: Fiscal Support, Palliative Analysis & Institutional Response,” the civic group expressed worry over the poor accountability mechanism in the management of the fund.
“For example, as of April 7, 2020, CACOVID, a private coalition of donors and corporate founders, has received donations totalling N21.5bn, according to PROSHARE,” BudgIT said in a statement Tuesday.
“Suffice it to say that the federal government has disbursed N288bn from the N500bn set aside for Covid-19 intervention programmes through its Economic Sustainability Plan.
“As of the time of our report, comprehensive details of disbursed funds have not been published on the Open Treasury platform. This further establishes our concerns about the lack of a proper framework for COVID19 fund accountability in Nigeria.”
BudgIT said that it reviewed Nigeria’s current fiscal support and institutional response to the pandemic, analysed data on COVID-19 response in Nigeria, including donations, allocations, disbursements and palliative distribution processes at both the national and subnational levels.
In 2020, the COVID-19 response in Nigeria began with the establishment of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 by President Muhammadu Buhari. Headed by Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the task force was mandated, alongside other government agencies, to coordinate and oversee Nigeria’s multi-sectoral intergovernmental efforts to contain the virus’ spread.
The Nigerian government also initiated a process to provide palliative measures, including funds disbursements and food items distribution to Nigerians, especially the marginalised and vulnerable.
BudgIT said its report reviewed the activities of these agencies as well as the support received by the government from both private and international institutions, including the $5.6 billion received as donations, grants, and relief support by the Nigerian government.
It also spotlighted concerns about intervention programmes from private coalitions.
“It is discouraging to discover that not much has been done regarding COVID-19 fund accountability in Nigeria,” says Iyanuoluwa Bolarinwa, Senior Program Officer at BudgIT.
“To this end, we are committed to partnering with agencies like the ICPC and others, to ensure a proper framework for probing COVID-19 response issues.”
BudgIT said the call for an effective framework for COVID-19 transparency and accountability could not have happened at a better time, especially in an environment deeply rooted in a profiteering culture and aversion to openness in the use of public funds.
“Per our findings, the continuous mismanagement of palliative items and funds earmarked for the COVID-19 response has created a wider gap between the rich and the poor where the vulnerable and marginalised are denied access to the palliative items that rightfully belong to them,” the civic organization said.
Using six states – Niger, Lagos, Kano, Ogun, Enugu and Rivers – as case studies, the research further revealed that many people vehemently disagreed with the government’s method of palliative distribution in their communities as they could not access any of the distributed palliative items, especially to the vulnerable.
Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s Chief Executive Officer said: “Health emergencies are inevitable, and a country must never be caught unawares. An effective response must begin with adequate preparation and resource allocation to the health sector, after which a proper process for monitoring, transparency and accountability should be established.”
The organisation said while it awaits responses from the government on the concerns raised, the government must improve investment in the health sector, ensure the timely release of audited statements on COVID-19 funds, institutionalise access to information to reduce misinformation, and prioritise citizen inclusion in committees and decision-making process.


I think the management system of an organization is very important. The government needs to pay more attention to an organization's effective framework for transparency and accountability in response to COVID-19.