The World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that Nigeria will be part of the global solidarity drug trial to combat coronavirus (COVID-19).
The world health body launched solidarity drug trials for these specific drugs – hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine phosphate, and remdesivir – in April.
Speaking to newsmen on Friday during the presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19 media briefing, Fiona Braka, the officer in charge, WHO Nigeria, said drug trials would soon begin in the country.
According to Braka, more than 100 countries have joined the solidarity clinical trial, which was launched by WHO and some partners, to help find an effective treatment for COVID-19.
She said: “Nigeria has also expressed interest to be part of this solidarity trial and efforts are underway to start the process in Nigeria too.
“Together with global health actors and partners, over the past week, WHO launched the access to COVID-19 tools ACT accelerator, a global collaboration to accelerate development for equitable access to new COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.
“We have a total of 89 vaccines that are in development globally, including seven in clinical evaluation and several therapeutics are in clinical trials. WHO is committed to ensuring that as medicines and vaccines are developed, they are shared equitably with all countries and people.
“We do have the solidarity trial which is an international clinical trial to help find an effective treatment for COVID-19, launched by the WHO and partners. More than 100 countries have joined the solidarity trial and to date, over 1,200 patients have been randomized from the first five countries to evaluate the safety and efficacy of full drug and drug combinations.”
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) on Friday evening, confirmed 238 new cases of COVID-19 across the country.
The latest update means there are now 2170 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria. 351 persons have made recovery and have been discharged while 68 people have died.
The trial of Covic19 vacin should not start in Nigeria but from the producers’country.
Coronavirus trial drugs is synonymous with vacin. Therefore Nigeria or any African country must not be used as trial venue as it was in the past.