EU Partners Nigeria On Local Vaccines Production
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
In a bid to enhance research and development capacities for implementing Nigeria’s national plan for the pharmaceutical industry and local production of vaccines and medical technologies, the European Union and Nigeria have signed a cooperation agreement on an €18 million.
The new collaboration, which underlines EU’s strong commitment to education and health equity was jointly signed by European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Ms Jutta Urpilainen, and the Permanent Secretary of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education, Ms Didi Esther Walson-Jack, at the EU Global Gateway High-Level Event on Education held in Brussels.
In a speech, Commissioner Urpilainen noted that, economic growth is dependent on an educated, skilled workforce and healthy societies, saying that investing in strengthening education and health systems worldwide is an integral part of the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy.
The Commissioner, further stressed that EU’s investments in quality education, research and training seek to empower future generations by equipping them with the knowledge, skills and competencies they need in a changing world to tackle global challenges and build prosperity.
The European funding signed under the Team Europe Initiative on Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines and Health Technologies in Africa (MAV+) will support a wider enabling environment around Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector, by promoting skills development through education and training, research and development such as research in artificial intelligence and nanotechnology, the digitalisation of essential dimensions of the ecosystem, a centralised system for forecasting, procurement and distribution of quality medical products, trade, investment and customs facilitation, intellectual property rights frameworks and conditions, and an enabling environment for preferential trade and investment.
Commissioner Urpilainen also signed other 15 Intra-Africa Mobility Scheme projects funded by the EU with €27 million under the flagship Youth Mobility for Africa.
The projects will provide learning mobility opportunities for students, trainees and staff across the continent to boost high-level green and digital skills.
Nigeria is expected to benefit from six projects, namely• CB4EE – Capacity Building for Engineering Education Practice and Research (€1.8 million of EU funding in total, with the participation of the University of Lagos-Unilag).
Commissioner Urpilainen also launched a key initiative of the Youth Action Plan in EU external relations, the Africa-Europe Youth Academy, which will provide opportunities for formal and informal learning and exchanges to young people looking to improve their leadership skills and create networks between Africa and Europe.
Nigeria can also benefit from the regional Team Europe Initiative on Opportunity-driven Skills and Vocational Education and Training in Africa, which will orient country-level vocational training initiatives towards concrete employment opportunities created by Global Gateway investments.
According to a statement by the EU Communications department, Education is a powerful mechanism to address inequality and poverty, boost human potential, open doors for girls, youth and marginalised groups, and provide a springboard for human connections, debate and democratic values.
The European Union is the leading investor in education worldwide as education creates an enabling environment for investments in digital and green transformations to succeed, and forms an integral part of the EU’s Global Gateway offer to partner countries.
The EU institutions and Member States provide more than 50% of all official development aid to education worldwide.
The EU dedicated at least 10% of its international partnerships budget for the period 2021–2027 to education.
The statement released by the EU Communications department notes that in 2021–2023, the EU had expended approximately 13% of the budget in commitments, which amounts to around €3 billion.
