Foreign news
Bill Gates calls for COVID-19 meds to go to people who need them, not ‘highest bidder
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates called for COVID-19 drugs and an eventual vaccine to be made available to countries and people that need them most, not to the “highest bidder,” saying relying on market forces would prolong the deadly pandemic.
“If we just let drugs and vaccines go to the highest bidder, instead of to the people and the places where they are most needed, we’ll have a longer, more unjust, deadlier pandemic,” Gates, founder of Microsoft, said in a video released on Saturday during a virtual COVID-19 conference organized by the International AIDS Society.
“We need leaders to make these hard decisions about distributing based on equity, not just on market-driven factors.”
With hundreds of vaccine projects under way and governments in Europe and the United States investing billions of dollars in research, trials and manufacturing, there is concern that richer nations could scoop up promising medicines against the new coronavirus, leaving developing countries empty-handed.
The European Commission and the World Health Organization have warned of an unhealthy competition in the scramble for a medicine seen as key to saving lives and resolving economic chaos sowed by virus, while some officials in Washington have indicated they would seek to prioritize U.S. residents.
Gates said efforts begun two decades ago to battle the global HIV/AIDS crisis, when countries came together to eventually make medicines available in most of the world including Africa, can serve as a model for making COVID-19 medicines widely accessible.
As examples he pointed to the 2002-created Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the U.S.-based President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief to get medicines to people to combat some of the world’s deadliest diseases as examples.
“One of the best lessons in the fight against HIV/AIDS is the importance of building this large, fair global distribution system to get the drugs out to everyone,” Gates said.
(Cover image: Microsoft founder Bill Gates attends the 10th World Health Summit 2018 event in Berlin, Germany, October 16, 2018. /Reuters)
Foreign news
NTAC Hails Tinubu; Volunteers Ready to Positively Impact Nigerians
Joel Ajayi
The Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) has commended President Bola Tinubu for funding the Technical Aid Corps (TAC) Scheme.
The Director General (DG) of NTAC , Dr Yusuf Yakub, made the commendation during a ceremony to receive five returning TAC volunteers from Zanzibar, Tanzania on Tuesday in Abuja.
The returning volunteers also expressed readiness to impact knowledge gained from participating in the programme on Nigerians.
TAC is a mechanism for Nigeria’s foreign aid and technical assistance to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries through the use of Nigeria’s abundant trained manpower.
Yakub lauded Tinubu’s visionary leadership and steadfast support for the TAC Scheme.
Welcoming the volunteers who had discharged themselves as worthy ambassadors in Zanzibar, the D-G thanked them for their patriotism, dedication to service and for making Nigeria proud on the international arena.
The NTAC boss highlighted the importance of knowledge-sharing, while announcing that certificates of completion will be presented to the volunteers in line with the noble objectives of the service.
He also emphasised the volunteers’ crucial role in passing on the skills and experiences gained in Zanzibar.
He expressed optimism that their efforts would positively impact the lives of Nigerians across the country and shape the expectations and service-delivery of future prospective volunteers.
Earlier speaking, Amb. Zakari Usman, the Director of Programmes for NTAC, expressed gratitude to the D-G for his unwavering support and provision for the volunteers throughout their service period.
He said that the volunteers had so delivered on the mandate of the agency that citizens of Zanzibar did not want them to leave their country.
Popoola Adegoke, the Team Lead and a Mathematics Instructor for the batch of returning volunteers, was full of gratitude to the Federal Government for providing them the opportunity to participate in the scheme.
Adegoke said that Nigeria, was well blessed and had the abundance of both human and natural resources to contribute meaningfully to the development of many countries of the world.
He said that the need to continue the TAC Scheme was not negotiable, owing to its high impact and results.
Mohammed Salisu, a Physicist, said that the experience had broadened his horizon as his orientation during the last 24 months in Zanzibar, especially on the cultural exchange.
He lauded the government for the scheme, saying that Nigeria is seen and perceived to be higher in all ranking, especially in the standard of living and educational system.
He also appealed to the government to sustain the scheme to close the gaps both the educational and professional systems in the African, Caribbean and the Pacific Countries.
NAN
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