Nigeria woos World Bank to fund vaccine plant

Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus

Nigeria's Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday said the government is wooing the World Bank to finance a vaccine plant.

Osinbajo said at an international conference in Abuja, organized by the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, that the government was in talks with the World Bank's private lending arm and other lenders to raise about 30 million U.S. dollars to help finance a vaccine plant.

According to Osinbajo, the global trend in health had made it critical for Nigeria to establish its own vaccine production facilities.

"I believe in the first quarter of next year, the plant, which is supposed to be located in Ota, Ogun State, will initially fill and finish," he said.

"Full manufacturing, we are told, is expected to follow in the coming months or years. I am not quite sure when," he added.