By Chika Otuchikere
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr.Godwin Emefiele has said that the apex bank will fund a research for a Nigerian Coronavirus vaccine.
Emefiele made the disclosure on Tuesday, at the unveiling of THISDAY Dome testing, tracing, and treatment centre in Abuja.
The governor said the bank is currently designing a framework which includes grants and long term facilities for “researchers, science institutions and biotechnology firms to develop the Nigerian Vaccine.”
He also revealed that the CBN recently launched a N100 billion healthcare intervention fund and several initiatives such as the provision of one trillion naira facility for firms operating in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors, to cushion the effect of the Coronavirus pandemic.
“Needless to state that if we are to wait for foreign countries to develop their own vaccines, we will be the last in the queue to receive curative remedies for our teeming population.
“Practitioners in the Pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors will be able to access finance at a single-digit rate through this fund.
“We are also working with financial institutions to enable the continuous flow of credit to viable businesses while putting in place provisions such as moratoriums and restructuring of existing loans under CBN intervention funds, that have been provided to businesses,” the governor said.
