The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the Federal Government to “ensure equitable access, human rights, transparency and accountability in the distribution” of COVID-19 vaccines.
SERAP said this on Tuesday after Nigeria took delivery of nearly four million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines, courtesy of the COVAX Facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO.
In a statement issued, the Rights group said details on the delivery and distribution of the vaccine doses must be disclosed and widely published.
The statement partly read, “Following the arrival in Nigeria today of 3.92 million #COVID19 vaccine doses, we urge President Buhari, the Minister of Health, PTF on COVID-19 and @NCDCgov to ensure equitable access, human rights, transparency and accountability in the distribution of the vaccines.
“We urge the Federal and State governments to publicly and widely make available all spending details on COVID-19.
“We’ll be issuing Freedom of Information requests to Nigerian authorities to ensure transparency and accountability around COVID-19 spending and distribution.
“Nigerian authorities must disclose and widely publish including online details on the delivery and distribution of #COVID19 vaccine doses.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is a major public health and human rights crisis in the country today. Vaccines should not be distributed on the basis of people’s political and economic power or influence.
“Nigerian authorities at both the Federal and State levels must ensure that everyone enjoys equal access to the vaccines within the shortest possible time, consistent with the principles of human rights, transparency and accountability, including access to essential medicines.”
SERAP said it will “challenge any blanket mandatory imposition of vaccine policies on the people, adding that authorities should ensure that vaccination is voluntary wherever and whenever possible.”
“Any policy on COVID-19 vaccines must be entirely consistent with human rights standards,” the group added.
