The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the lower chamber chaired by Bamidele Salam  gave the directive at the weekend during the resumed investigative hearing on the alleged mismanagement of the COVID-19 intervention funds by the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government and others who benefited from the funds.

The committee resolved that all private airlines that received COVID-19 relief funds designated to support the aviation sector to refund the allocated funds to the federal government treasury in a week, if they fail to give justifiable evidence of how the money was spent.

The committee expressed displeasure that despite appearing before it, several of the airlines and industry stakeholders, including Aero Contractors, Azman, Newrest, and representatives from the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, failed to provide satisfactory explanations regarding the allocation and expenditure of the funds.

Azman Airlines represented by its marketing manager, Odum Chizoba Uju admitted receiving N367.9 million purportedly allocated for various operational expenses including aircraft maintenance; spare parts, fueling, Forex purchasing, and insurance premium paid.

Also, the station manager of Aero Contractor, Abdulmalik Musa said the company received N217. 3 million from the federal government for the Covid-19 intervention fund.

But in a sharp reaction to the submissions on how the airlines utilised the funds, a member of the Committee and former pilot with the Nigeria Air Force, Hon. Ojuawo Adeniyi from Ekiti state faulted the submissions, saying the services claimed by the operators were applicable only during the regular operations of airlines.

Consequently, a motion was moved by a member, Akiba Bassey that the amount involved should be refunded to the Federation account should the airlines fail to give justifiable evidence before the Committee on the expenditure and it was unanimously supported by members.

WHO declares a PHEIC when an emergency is “serious, sudden, unusual or unexpected”, with implications for health beyond the affected state’s national borders – and the status helps trigger a set of measures and legally binding obligations that facilitate a coordinated international response. Lack of PHEIC status does not mean COVID-19 is no longer a pandemic: the DG noted that this news does not mean COVID-19 is “over as a global health threat.”

Several PHEICs have not been related to pandemics, and several sustained epidemics or “pandemics” have not been assigned PHEIC status. Read more about these nuances here. 

The Emergency Committee has met every three months since the PHEIC was declared in early 2020.

The lifting of official PHEIC status is a sign of the progress made in the past year, getting most countries to a solid baseline of coverage, including with support from COVAX which has focused efforts on lower-income countries.

Global coverage with a primary series (two doses) of COVID-19 vaccine stands at 64% on average, and at 55% on average in the 92 lowest-income countries (compared to 28% at the beginning of 2022).

On average, the majority of health care workers and older adults across the world – among those at greatest risk – are protected with two doses, and are starting to receive boosters. The countries furthest behind have made remarkable progress.  

Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which co-leads COVAX – the global initiative for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines – comments on what today’s decision means for the continued fight against COVID-19 and other deadly infectious diseases:  

After more than three years of this pandemic, the world is ready to move to the next phase. But while today marks a historic milestone, we must also be clear about the need to continue to protect our most vulnerable people, as we do for other deadly but preventable diseases. Around three out of ten older adults in lower-income countries have not yet received two doses, and we know they are among those most likely to become severely ill or die from COVID-19. 

During the pandemic, countries delivered more vaccines than ever before in history. With multiple outbreaks, millions of children missing out on routine vaccinations, and the certainty of future pandemics, the urgent question is – how can we best apply what we have learned to reach more people with lifesaving vaccines than ever before?”  

COVAX has delivered nearly 2 billion doses to 146 countries, and dedicated more than US$ 1.6bn to help countries turn vaccines into vaccinations, and strengthen health systems.

For the past year, Gavi and partners have been working to help countries plan for this moment, and ensure an unprecedented global emergency response effort can smoothly transition to a tailored, country-specific effort to deliver COVID-19 vaccines alongside other vital routine services.

With a strong foundation of coverage around the world, a plan to integrate COVID-19 vaccine delivery into routine vaccination programs, developed in consultation with countries and partners, will be discussed at the upcoming Gavi Board meeting in June 2023.

Most recently, the African Union, Africa CDC, Gavi, WHO, UNICEF, countries and other partners convened a “global stocktake” in Addis Ababa to share thoughts on how best to take this work forward. 

The grant, awarded through the #StoptheSpread Fund, administered by the Coca-Cola Foundation is valued at $350,000 and will focus on increasing vaccine uptake and logistic support in key states where there has been established vaccine hesitancy in Nigeria.

IFRC will work with local Red Cross Society teams and volunteers to execute the program.

“This donation will enable the Nigerian Red Cross access some of the hardest to reach communities in Nigeria. If we are to have any chance at stopping COVID-19 transmission, we must ensure that we make it possible for these communities to not just understand the danger this virus portends, but also through personal protection and access to vaccination.”, said Abubakar Kende, Secretary General, Nigerian Red Cross Society.

The mobilization campaign will see the Nigeria Red Cross creating public enlightenment messages about the benefits of taking the vaccine as well as helping interested persons find a vaccination site closest to them.

Red Cross volunteers have already commenced Risk Communication and Community Engagement activities in communities in Bauchi, Bayelsa, Kogi, Ebonyi and Edo states.

As part of the intervention and community advocacy, the Red Cross Volunteers will provide useful information to members of communities about the benefits of the vaccine, quell rumors and myths associated with COVID-19, and provide clear answers to questions relating to the pandemic as well as direct community members to medical facilities where they can get vaccinated safely.

The campaign backed by The Coca-Cola Foundation will run until October 2022.

PATIMFA enables countries to adjust in an orderly manner to financial, economic, and health services shock. PATIMFA will also be available to organizations working on hospital rehabilitation and diagnostic and testing capabilities. 

Folake Ani-Mumuney, Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, FirstBank, revealed this in a statement released on Monday in Lagos.

According to the announcement, FirstBank clients involved in the development and import of supplies and equipment essential to battle the COVID-19 epidemic would have access to Afreximbank’s $150 million support.

Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, said in a statement that the distribution was a further indication of the program’s importance in assisting African economies in recovering from the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prof. Benedict said, “Since April 2020, when PATIMFA was launched, we are more than proud to have disbursed more than 7 billion dollars to help Afreximbank member countries manage the adverse impact of the financial, economic, and health shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Through FirstBank, one of our trade finance intermediaries, this 150 million dollar facility will help build the resilience of many businesses to the adverse impacts of the pandemic, while helping them overcome the consequences of the current Ukraine crisis,” Oramah added.

Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, FirstBank’s CEO, praised Afreximbank for its significant financial support, which demonstrates its faith in FirstBank’s ability and track record over the years.

“We commend Afreximbank for this impactful financial response, It will immensely contribute to empowering many businesses adversely impacted by the economic shocks caused by COVID-19. The selection of FirstBank as a partner in this initiative is a testament to their confidence in our capacity and proven track record over the years,” Adeduntan said.

The predictions for Africa were particularly dire. Fortunately, we didn’t witness the kind of devastation anticipated. But that doesn’t mean our healthcare systems didn’t suffer – often experiencing a range of hidden costs.

Take the Kenyan Ear, Nose and Throat Society, of which I am executive committee member, as an example.

At the onset of the pandemic, the Society implemented strict guidelines for members. We had to double mask with N95 face masks which, being medical grade, are more expensive than regular face masks, and change gowns between patients.

These decisions saved lives – but they also increased hospitals’ operational costs, which are now being passed on to patients in the form of higher healthcare prices.

Tragically, we have also lost many healthcare workers – heroes who put their lives on the line for the public good. Families and friends feel that loss most poignantly.

And it is a loss to our health systems too. In Africa, we grapple with the lowest ratio of healthcare workers per population.

It is estimated that the global shortage of healthcare workers will be most significant in Africa, with a shortage of around 6 million healthcare workers by 2030.

The pandemic also cost us progress on other public health priorities, including HIV/Aids, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. Experts warn that the pandemic has effectively derailed years of public health progress.

So, we need to get every eligible person vaccinated. Particularly healthcare workers. According to the World Health Organisation, only 27% of health workers in Africa have been fully vaccinated, leaving the majority exposed to severe Covid-19 infection.

As a result, since March 2020 there have been more than 150 400 Covid-19 infections among healthcare workers alone.

We know that vaccines save lives. A study by Public Health England conducted in June 2021 revealed that the Pfizer vaccine is 96% effective against the Delta variant after two doses, while AstraZeneca’s vaccine provides 92% protection against hospitalisation caused by the same variant.

Early indications are that they provide good protection against severe illness and hospitalisation even with the new Omicron variant.

Vaccines save lives. And we know that they’re the best way of securing our economies. But here’s another reason vaccines are so important: they will help to shore up our public health sector – and stem the losses.

“The 2020 UN Report on Trade and Development, estimates illicit losses of USD 88.6 million each year in Africa alone. In 2019, 2,1% of all global crypto transactions globally were categorised as illicit, in 2020 this number dropped to 0.34% of all global cryptocurrency transactions.

This translates to roughly USD 10 billion globally,” she says.

Reasons for rise in financial crime

According to Crouwel, there is a perfect storm of three main reasons for the rise in financial crimes across the continent.

“First, financial education levels tend to be lower in Africa and combined with financial hardship caused by Covid-19, citizens are seeking good returns. Second, crypto is a new technology, so users are uncertain about how it works and how to protect themselves.

Finally, personal data in Africa has not been well protected compared to Asian and European markets, even though POPIA was recently introduced in South Africa, one of the continent’s largest economies. This makes it easy for people with bad intentions to get hold of personal information,” she explains.

Among its 9 million customers across 40 countries, in around 95% of Luno’s current financial crime cases, customers have been scammed.

This varies from traditional ‘get-rich-quick’ scams to cases where customers are scammed into surrendering their login information to fraudsters, who sometimes pretend to be from Luno.

Regulation, or the lack thereof, is a significant factor. “Luno fully supports regulation of crypto and believes that it will help to combat fraud. But the reality is that even highly regulated sectors experience financial crime, especially scams,” she says.

Given that crypto is so new, crypto businesses have a significant role to play in teaching customers how to stay safe and protecting customers.

Luno uses external blockchain monitoring companies and restricts crypto movements when the data indicates that customers are at risk.

Says Crouwel, “Interestingly, there is no specific demographic for victims, despite widely-held perceptions that scammers target either the ignorant elderly, or young mavericks looking to make a quick buck or previously disadvantaged users.”

Keeping customers safe

Luno recently underwent the rigorous process of independently verifying the existence of customer funds by means of a proof of reserves report prepared by Mazars South Africa. “The proof of reserve report confirms to crypto holders that their wallets do in fact contain the cryptocurrency stated and avoids the dangerous situation of thinking they have digital assets which don’t exist.”

In addition, Luno conducts financial audits, security audits, audit of reserves and compliance audits. “We invest heavily in advanced technology that allows our dedicated investigations team to access  real time, tech-driven insights, which means we are able to respond much more quickly to behaviour that has been identified as risky. We have always said that Luno is a safe platform to secure and store cryptocurrency and we now have external validation of this,” she says.

The financial services industry tracks patterns and fraud margins. “While risk appetite differs between institutions, traditional financial service providers like banks would generally consider overall fraud loss thresholds of 5% or even as high as 8% as acceptable. In fact, according to a recent PWC report on fraud losses, most fraud is not even further investigated. Luno’s threshold is much lower at between 0,5% and 1,5% depending on the region. While it is a bold statement, based on these numbers Luno can confirm that our security is better than bank-grade.”

Customers also need to be alert and careful. “We also count on our customers to keep the best interest of their funds in mind when dealing with cryptocurrency. We recently embarked on an email campaign to our customers to explain the risks and what to look out for.”

Tips to keep your crypto safe

• Use a recognised, reputable exchange, as the significant investment in security will mean that your money remains safe.
• The weakest link is human beings. It is very rare to see actual hacking in crypto financial fraud.
• It is true that crypto is volatile but be aware that if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
• Treat your login information with as much respect as you do your bank login details.