Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is set for a second term as head of the World Health Organisation after the global health body’s executive board nominated him yesterday as the sole candidate for a procedural leadership vote in May.

Tedros thanked the board for its support over the past five years and laid out the challenges ahead as the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Of course, the last two years have been difficult. The whole world is sick and tired. They want to have the pandemic behind them. Families want to get together again, children would like to go back to school without any fear,” he said.

“But we are still challenged by omicron,” he said, but stressed that the world has the tools to fight the virus.

“I believe that in 2022, the acute phase of the pandemic will be over because all of us are sick and tired.”

Tedros’ nomination was finalized a day after he came under fire from Zenebe Kebede Korcho, Ethiopia’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva.

Zenebe tried to make a speech accusing Tedros, who is of Tigrayan descent and previously served as the foreign and health minister of Ethiopia, of acting “at the expense of the interests of Ethiopia.”

Tedros was previously criticised by Ethiopian authorities for his views on the government’s blockade on health aid for Tigray during the recent conflict in the northern Ethiopian region.

Zenebe was halted by WHO Executive Board chair Patrick Amoth on a procedural ruling.

“Further discussion of the matter is not germane and is therefore out of order under the relevant rules of procedure,” said Amoth, who is from Kenya, one of the 28 countries that have nominated Tedros for a second term at the helm of the WHO.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has arrested over 90 persons, as part of effort to rid the nation’s airports of criminal activities.

The suspects were arrested for issuing fake Covid-19 test results, touting, unauthorised entry, trespass, illegal facilitation, forgery, loitering, theft, public nuisance, arguments and others.

Its spokesperson, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, in a statement yesterday, said the suspects were caught at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Some of those arrested, she said, include workers with Patovilki Nigeria Limited, Lakewood Services, Nahco Plc and others.

Of those arrested, 59 were handed over to the Airport Police Command in Abuja and 30 were handed over to the police in Lagos for prosecution.

She said:  “FAAN will like to use this opportunity to warn those that do not have any legitimate business at the airports, as well as airport staff carrying out illegal duties to desist from such acts, as the authority will not hesitate to arrest and hand over such individuals to the police.”

But, NAHCO has challenged the action, urging FAAN to provide details of the arrested persons.

Its spokesman, Samuel Akinrinmade, said: “NAHCO is in support of the arrest of the airport staff for touting and other vices. We commend the move.

“NAHCO is a responsible player in the industry, as such, will not condone any form of illegality. We urge FAAN to always carry us along in this fight. The current move will in no small measure help our industry to grow as well as bring sanity to the airports.

“We will, however, engage FAAN, to provide us the details of our personnel alleged to be involved, to enable us to activate our internal disciplinary process as we currently do not have any clue as to who is involved, when, and in what capacity.”

World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, has expressed optimism that COVID-19 pandemic will end in 2022.

Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing on Wednesday that it was two years ago, as people gathered for New Year’s Eve celebrations, that a new global threat emerged.

Since then, 1.8 million deaths were recorded in 2020 and 3.5 million in 2021, but the actual number is much higher. There are also millions of people dealing with long-term consequences from the virus.

Right now, Delta and Omicron variants are driving up cases to record numbers, leading to spikes in hospitalisation and deaths.

Ghebreyesus said he was “highly concerned” that the more transmissible Omicron, circulating at the same time as Delta, is leading to “a tsunami of cases.”

Earlier in 2020, during meetings of the world’s biggest economies – the G7 and G20 – WHO challenged leaders to vaccinate 40 per cent of their populations by the end of 2021 and 70 per cent by the middle of 2022.

With only a couple of days left in the year, 92 out of 194 member states missed the target.

The WHO boss attributed this to low-income countries receiving a limited supply for most of the year and then subsequent vaccines arriving close to expiry, without key parts, like syringes.

Read Also: Crossover night: FCT, states take measures to curtail COVID-19 spread

“Forty per cent was doable. It’s not only a moral shame, it cost lives and provided the virus with opportunities to circulate unchecked and mutate,” he said.

Ghebreyesus warned that boosters in rich countries could cause low-income countries to again fall short and called on leaders of wealthy countries and manufacturers to work together to reach the 70 per cent goal by July.

“This is the time to rise above short-term nationalism and protect populations and economies against future variants by ending global vaccine inequity.

“We have 185 days to the finish line of achieving 70 per cent by the start of July 2022. And the clock starts now,” he said

Early on, the director-general acknowledged that beating the new health threat would require science, solutions, and solidarity.

Elaborating on some successes, such as the development of new vaccines, which he said “represent a scientific masterclass”, the WHO official lamented that politics too often triumphed over solidarity.

“Populism, narrow nationalism and hoarding of health tools, including masks, therapeutics, diagnostics and vaccines, by a small number of countries undermined equity, and created the ideal conditions for the emergence of new variants,” he said.

Moreover, misinformation and disinformation, have also been “a constant distraction, undermining science and trust in lifesaving health tools”.

He highlighted as a case in point that huge waves of infections have swept Europe and many other countries causing the unvaccinated to die disproportionally.

The unvaccinated are many times more at risk of dying from either variant.

As the pandemic drags on, new variants could become fully resistant to current vaccines or past infection, necessitating vaccine adaptations.

For Ghebreyesus, as any new vaccine update could mean a new supply shortage, it is important to build up local manufacturing supply.

One way to increase production of life-saving tools, he said, is to pool technology, as in the new WHO Bio Hub System, a mechanism to voluntarily share novel biological materials.

He also pointed to the new WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, based in Berlin, Gerrmany.

Ghebreyesus called for the development of a new accord between nations, saying it would be “a key pillar” of a world better prepared to deal with the next disease.

“I hope to see negotiations move swiftly and leaders to act with ambition,” he said.

COVID-19 cases reported this month have nearly tripled in three months, according to the latest epidemiological data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

From data obtained by The Nation, the total number of COVID-19 cases recorded in October and November were 7,141 and 2,167, totaling 9,308 cases.

However, as of December 27, a total of 24,150 confirmed COVID-19 cases were recorded.

The above data gives credence to the fact that the country is already in a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the NCDC.

Read Also: More flights scrapped globally as Covid-19 cases surge

However, there is still no certainty whether the Omicron variant is driving this surge in infections or other variants like the Delta COVID-19 variant.

While as of December 21, 2021, only 45 Omicron variants had been confirmed by the NCDC from samples sequenced, the Director General of the NCDC, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, had earlier in the week confirmed that the Omicron is now driving the recent surge in cases, and may have likely replaced the Delta variant at the community level.

The WHO, NCDC and other international health bodies continue to urge people to get vaccinated against the virus, while adhering strictly to the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) of regular handwashing with soap in flowing water, hand sanitising with alcohol-based sanitisers, proper wearing of face mask, practising social distancing, and avoiding large gatherings.

Concerning COVID-19 vaccination coverage across the country, according to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), as of December 27, 2021, in 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), 9,861,311 of total eligible persons targeted for COVID-19 vaccination were reached with first dose while 4,380,239 of total eligible persons targeted for COVID-19 vaccination were reached with second dose (fully vaccinated).

Also, Nasarawa State continues to lead other states across the country as the most performing state with regards to COVID-19 mass vaccination campaign. Other states are: Jigawa, Ogun, Oyo, and Kwara.

Lagos State Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi has said the state has administered 8,953 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as a booster dose.

Abayomi stated this through his official Instagram account @profakinabayomi, while giving the state’s Vaccination Update for Dec. 24.

He said 2,049,512 doses of AstraZeneca and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in Lagos.

Read Also; Fed Govt destroys over 1m expired AstraZeneca vaccines

Abayomi noted that 3.15 per cent of the targeted population had received two doses of the vaccines. According to him, 974,928 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine were administered as the first dose, while 520,622 of the vaccine were administered as the second dose.

The commissioner noted that for the Moderna vaccine, 317, 784 were administered as the first dose, while 236, 178 were administered for the second dose.

He said 13,895,199 doses of vaccines need to be administered for the state to achieve its herd immunity target.

However, the Lagos State Government on Dec. 22, announced the non-availability of Moderna vaccine at all vaccination centres in the state.

By Moses Emorinken and Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

• Agency: Omicron responsible for surge

• Fed Govt, WHO, CAN issue advisory

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed that in 24 hours, more than 4,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been recorded across the country.

The NCDC stated that the recent spike in COVID-19 cases across the country is as a result of the Omicron variant.

The epidemiological data showed that Lagos State is currently driving the fourth wave of the pandemic, as earlier stated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the NCDC.

The confirmation came as the Federal Government, through the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 (PSC), the WHO and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) urged Nigerians to celebrate the Christmas and New Year holidays responsibly.

It added that there is an increasing trend in the number of hospitalised persons in isolations.

The agency, however, warned that should the increasing trend continue and to prevent the healthcare system from being overwhelmed, the Federal Government may reintroduce certain stringent measures like curfews, restrictions on gatherings etc.

According to the NCDC, as of December 22, Lagos accounted for 3,393 COVID-19 cases, representing 84 per cent of the total cases of 4,035 reported in a single day.

It, therefore, urged Nigerians to be cautious, especially during the yuletide season, which has the innate potential to escalate cases of COVID-19, particularly through the Delta and Omicron variants.

According to the NCDC, a total of 231,413 confirmed cases have been reported in the country, with 211,853 discharges, and sadly, 2,991 people have lost their lives.

PSC: celebrate safely with families, loved ones

PSC COVID-19 Chairman, who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, said: “As we prepare to celebrate with our families and loved ones, it is important that we do so safely by taking the necessary precautionary measures to stop the further spread of COVID-19 in our country.

“Nigeria is now experiencing the 4th wave COVID- 19 as new cases have continued to rise.

“This is the result of a mix of very low vaccination coverage, increased travels and movements, reduced compliance to public health social measures and highly transmissible Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant now circulating in the country,” he added.

The PSC Chairman strongly appealed to Nigerians to imbibe the culture of citizen’s responsibility and observe the following safety measures to reduce community transmission of COVID- 19 during the festive period.

“Avoid activities that involve mass gathering, especially in enclosed spaces, as follows; Families are advised to limit the number of visitors to their homes and put in place precautionary safety measures;

“Any gathering in excess of 50 people should be done in open spaces with physical distancing;

“Indoor religious congregation should be limited to 50 per cent capacity with full compliance to public health social measures; and Face masks and hand sanitizers should be used at all times regardless of vaccination status while in public spaces…”

‘Ignoring COVID-19 will just perpetuate it’

The WHO has also issued a reminder that “anyone who ignores COVID-19 is…perpetuating it”.

WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean region, Ahmed Al-Mandhari, in his message said the pandemic was far from over.

Citing the latest modelling data, Al-Mandhari said that 22 countries and territories in the region would probably see more than 17 million cases and over 314,000 deaths by the end of the year.

In spite of the holiday season, “failure to apply the established public health and social measures could cause alarming surges in the number of COVID-19 cases and related deaths,” he said.

CAN to citizens: don’t let off your guards

CAN yesterday advised citizens not to let off their guards on COVID-19 protocols to curtail its spread during the yuletide.

President, CAN and Co-Chairman, Nigeria Inter Religious Council (NIREC), Rev. Samson Ayokunle, gave the advice in a statement yesterday in Abuja.

Ayokunle said the call was necessary as the world had entered the fourth phase of the pandemic and it was spreading faster than other phases.

The clergyman also urged political leaders to use the Christmas season to bring relief and joy to the citizens.

A fresh 3.5 million doses of Pfizer vaccine have arrived in the country from United States.

The shipment, according to a statement from the U.S. embassy, arrived yesterday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

The latest shipment brings the total number of U.S.-bilaterally donated doses to Nigeria to over 7.5 million.

The U.S. also contributed to the first multilateral donation of AstraZeneca vaccine in March 2021. Overall, COVAX has provided Nigeria with over 10 million doses to date.

Read Also; FG receives over 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from France

The statement reads: “The U.S. Mission in Nigeria is pleased to announce the arrival of 3,577,860 doses of Pfizer vaccine for the public health and benefit of the Nigerian people through COVAX, the worldwide initiative ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

“The U.S. shipment arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on October 14.  The shipment will bring the total number of U.S.-bilaterally donated doses to Nigeria to over 7.5 million. The U.S. also contributed to the first multilateral donation of AstraZeneca vaccine in March 2021. Overall, COVAX has provided Nigeria with over 10 million doses to date.

“Safe and effective vaccines are our best tool to ending the pandemic. The United States has pledged to purchase and donate 1.1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses worldwide, and to date has delivered more than 180 million doses to more than 100 countries.”