Ayoade Olatunbosun-Alakija

Ayoade Olatunbosun-Alakija is Nigeria's former chief humanitarian coordinator and is an activist for social justice. She is a published researcher. She has worked with the World Health Organization and UNICEF to led multi-country behavioral health surveys. In 2021, Dr Alakija is Co-Chair of the Africa Union Africa Vaccine Delivery Alliance for COVID-19 (AVDA). She also serves on the Global advisory board of WomenLift health and is Chief Strategist CONVINCE Africa. She led the joint national and international humanitarian response in the Lake Chad region between 2016 and 2019.

Quotes

Omicron Covid Varient BBC interview (2021)

Dr Ayoade Olatunbosun-Alakija in a Omicron Covid Varient BBC interview with Philippa Thomas on 27 November 2021

• Had the first Covid-19 virus, the one first identified in China last year, originated in Africa it is clear the world would have locked us away and thrown away the key, there would have been no urgency to develop vaccines because we would have been expendable. Africa would have become known as the continent of Covid-19. What is going on is inevitable and is a result of the world’s failure to vaccinate in an equitable, urgent, and speedy manner.

• We knew this was a crossroads it was going to bring us to. It was going to bring us to a variant. It was going to bring us to more dangerous variants.

• Why are we acting surprised? Why are we locking away Africa when this virus is already on three continents? Nobody is locking away Belgium and Israel. Why are we locking away Africa? It is wrong and it is time our African leaders stand up and find their voice.