To further boost its support for the fight against the Covid-19 global pandemic, MTN Nigeria has donated 300,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines to the Nigerian government.
Recall that earlier in January, the MTN Group in conjunction with the African Union (AU) had pledged a $25million donation for the supply of Covid-19 vaccines to member countries of AU to support the fight against the global pandemic.
MTN said the donation of the 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine is in partial fulfillment of the 1.4 million doses designated for Nigeria by the African Union (AU).
A statement issued by MTN on Tuesday entitled, ‘First set of MTN donation of 1.4 million doses of vaccines received by Nigeria’, noted that the MTN Group had contributed $25m for the vaccines, a combination of doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX facility and from the AU COVID-19 vaccination programme.
Speaking earlier on Monday at the Presidential Task Force(PTF) national briefing, the Chairman of the PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha who confirmed the receipt of the vaccines from MTN commended the gesture.
He said: “Yesterday, Sunday, March 21, 2021, the PTF received 300,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines from MTN Nigeria. This is acknowledged with thanks as we encourage other partners to contribute towards the fight against COVID-19.”
The vaccine is expected to be distributed amongst health workers in Nigeria by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA).
The Director-General of the NPHDA, Faisal Shuaib, in her speech commended the MTN Group’s collaboration with the Nigeria government.
According to Shuaib, the arrival of the vaccines is a major step, and he advocated for more collaborations from organizations.
Also speaking, DG of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Chikwe Ihekweazu, expressed appreciation on behalf of the government.
He said: “The donation of COVID-19 vaccines is truly helpful, and we are grateful. We can only succeed against COVID-19 when we fight together. These vaccines will go a long way in protecting health workers, who are on the frontline, and need all the protection they can get at this critical moment, hence the prioritisation of their vaccinations.”
Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, emphasized on the power of partnership and collaboration, explaining that the ongoing threat of COVID-19 required a vast and accelerated effort by both private and public sectors.
Toriola said this kind of partnership demonstrated what could be achieved when working together for the progress of the country and the continent.
“I thank the Nigerian government and the AU for the opportunity they granted MTN to collaborate and contribute towards the delivery of these vaccines. We are truly privileged to have been able to play our part in contributing towards the government’s efforts to protect and save lives,” he said.
The latest effort is in line with the MTN’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) in promoting and ensuring a healthy and safe society.
It would be recalled that MTN though its social responsibility arm, MTN Foundation, donated several relief and safety items at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
