The Tertiary Education Trust Fund’s efforts in vaccine development have begun to show results, as the COVID-19 vaccine project that the Fund is funding will be ready for its first clinical trial in November of this year. The project, a mega-grant intervention, is a cooperative effort involving cluster researchers from five different institutions to consolidate problem-solving research and foster innovation in Nigeria. Its working title is “Accelerated Development of COVID-19 Vaccines Using Innovative Technological Approach.”
A total of N1,250,000,000.00 (One Billion, Two Hundred and Fifty Million) Naira have previously been distributed to four clusters of researchers by TETFund. The Vaccine Production Cluster received a grant totaling N450,000,000 (Four Hundred and Fifty,000,000) for one of the clusters. The National Veterinary Research Institute Vom, Usman Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Jos, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Lagos, and National Research Institute for Chemical Technology, Zaria are among the institutions represented in the vaccine production cluster.
Professor Lawal Suleiman Bilbis, vice chancellor of Usman Danfodiyo University in Sokoto, revealed that they were able to achieve the breakthrough thanks to the Fund’s full assistance while briefing Arc Sonny Echono, executive secretary of the TETFund, on their current development. He recounted how the COVIC-19 pandemic had destroyed and inflicted unspeakable suffering on humanity worldwide, saying that Nigeria had been left in a desperate situation and had only been delivered by divine intervention. It has become urgent for Africa to join the rest of the world in developing its vaccine, according to a presentation by Dr. Bashir Muhammad Bello of Usman Danfodiyo University in Sokoto. It is estimated that the continent currently imports 99% of its vaccines and consumes 25% of the world’s vaccine supply.
In response, Arc Echono praised the team for the impressive effort accomplished under a deadline to honor the nation with the advancements seen in vaccine production. Assuring that TETFund would continue to support the researchers’ cross-disciplinary efforts to guarantee the intended result is reached, he explained that the initiative is a national one and has therefore grown to be a source of national pride.
