The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has revealed that Nigeria requires a median of N104.4 billion yearly to implement its National Action Plan for Health Security, warning that the nation stays considerably underfunded to forestall and reply to illness outbreaks.
This was disclosed in a press release issued on Monday and signed by the Director-General of the company, Jide Idris.
Mr Idris mentioned the estimated value of implementing NAPHS 2.0 alone is roughly N522 billion over 5 years.
“This translates to an average of about N104.4 billion annually. Although not all NAPHS activities are funded through NCDC, this figure illustrates the scale of investment required to protect Nigerians against public health threats,” he mentioned..
Mr Idris mentioned the funding requirement covers a broad vary of actions aimed toward strengthening Nigeria’s capability to forestall, detect and reply to public health threats.
He famous that the plan was developed following the expiration of the nation’s first NAPHS, with insufficient funding recognized as one of many main constraints to its implementation.
NAPHS 2.0, which covers 2025 to 2029, adopts a multisectoral, One Health and whole-of-government method, bringing collectively authorities ministries, departments and businesses, growth companions, civil society organisations and different stakeholders.
He additional defined that the N10 billion emergency intervention fund not too long ago authorized by President Bola Tinubu must be understood throughout the broader funding necessities of the nation’s health security system.
Nigeria’s health security funding
Mr Idris mentioned the NCDC’s annual allocation elevated from N4 billion in 2024 to N7 billion in 2025, whereas it additionally acquired a N5 billion intervention fund in 2025.
He added that the 2026 Appropriation Act offers N22 billion for the company.
He mentioned President Bola Tinubu authorized a further N10 billion emergency intervention fund in June 2026, following the outbreak of Ebola within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Mr Idris mentioned the additional funding was requested to strengthen Nigeria’s preparedness for epidemic-prone illnesses and was not restricted to the Ebola outbreak.
PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that Mr Idris mentioned the N10 billion was meant to help preparedness and response actions for a number of illnesses, together with Lassa fever, cholera and different endemic infections.
President Tinubu established a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats in June, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to coordinate the nationwide response.
However, Mr Idris clarified within the assertion that the N10 billion was launched to the NCDC and to not the Presidential Task Force.
Funding hole
Mr Idris additionally famous that the funding required for Nigeria’s health security goes past the allocations at the moment supplied to the NCDC.
He cited estimates by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, which point out that nations require between $1 and $2 per particular person yearly to attain a suitable stage of epidemic preparedness.
Applying this benchmark to Nigeria’s inhabitants of roughly 240 million, he mentioned the nation would require between $240 million and $480 million yearly.
He mentioned sustained investments from the federal and state governments, in addition to growth companions, can be vital to shut the funding hole.
Mr Idris additionally attributed the persistent underfunding of health security partly to the issue of demonstrating the rapid returns on investments in outbreak prevention.
He defined that stopping an outbreak, averting deaths and avoiding financial losses had been typically much less seen than different public health interventions, making it tough to persuade policymakers to prioritise such investments.
He famous that the federal government should maintain its dedication to health security, including that efficient preparedness would cut back the probability of illness outbreaks escalating into nationwide emergencies, disrupting livelihoods and overwhelming health amenities.
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Mr Idris urged policymakers, the media and growth companions to advocate sustainable funding for the NCDC and Nigeria’s wider health security system.
Ebola response
The assertion comes amid Nigeria’s response to an imported case of Ebola illness attributable to the Bundibugyo virus, confirmed on 20 October.
The affected person, a 42-year-old Ugandan-born girl resident in Abuja, was subsequently medically evacuated to Switzerland for continued therapy.
Nigeria has since reported no energetic confirmed Ebola case, though health authorities are persevering with to watch recognized contacts throughout the 21-day incubation interval.
Mr Idris urged Nigerians to depend on verified data and cooperate with public health officers as surveillance and monitoring actions proceed.
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