Thabani Maphosa, MD Gavi's Country Director of Programmes Delivery glossed over Gavi's partnership with Nigeria which spans over a 20-year period with vaccine support worth over $2.2 billion. 

Maphosa maintained that Gavi's collaboration with Nigeria was instrumental during the COVID-19 pandemic as Gavi supplied in conjunction with the Federal government majority of the vaccines used in Nigeria.

Maphosa highlights major strides by Gavi in Nigeria including its initiative to reduce zero-dose children in  Nigeria emphasizing that Nigeria has about 2.3 million zero-dose children and there is a collaborative effort to ensure no child is left behind. "We have progressed from the initial coverage of 27% and have reached a zero-dose coverage of 62% in about a decade"  

He also expressed excitement over Gavi's proposed launch of the HPV vaccine which is projected to launch in about a month, the vaccine fights cervical cancer, a leading cancer that has claimed the lives of women in Nigeria, emphasizing that vaccination of young and out-of-school girls is extremely important to fight the scourge of cervical cancer in Nigerian

Similarly, Maphosa expressed optimism on the prospects of the malaria vaccine that Gavi will be bringing into Nigeria disclosing that Nigeria is home to one third of the global burden of malaria. "This vaccine with drastically reduce child mortality caused by malaria" and we look to partner with the Federal government and States to achieve this