Minister of State for Health, Iziaq Salako, says Nigeria is not yet in a position to manufacture vaccines within the country.

Speaking on a Channels Television programme, Politics Today, on Thursday, Salako explained that Nigeria’s current vaccine production capacity remains limited.

Responding to a question about whether the country can produce vaccines at this time, he said, “Unfortunately, not. One of the key priorities of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Health Value Chain is to advance local vaccine development.”

He noted that vaccine manufacturing requires extensive economic and technical assessment, stressing that domestic production must be cost-effective to be sustainable.

“It’s not enough to simply decide to produce vaccines. You must consider comparative advantage. If local production ends up being more expensive than importing, then it defeats the purpose. Every necessary analysis must be done,” he said.

Salako added that Nigeria’s population of more than 240 million is an advantage, but the country still needs to meet global market and production standards.

He, however, assured Nigerians that the nation’s health security system remains robust and ready to respond to international health threats.