ABUJA, NIGERIA – A high-level advocacy meeting in Abuja, co-convened by Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Health, Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases, and The Global Fund, has highlighted significant progress in Nigeria’s fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Building on the momentum from a 2024 meeting, this follow-up event focused on one of the most critical challenges facing NTDs today: sustainable domestic financing.
A New Era of Domestic Commitment
During the meeting, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Mohammed Ali Pate, and the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Isiaq Salako, underscored the vital need for increased domestic resource mobilization. Both ministers stressed that this move is essential to plug funding gaps left by the decline in global Official Development Assistance (ODA) and to secure Nigeria's progress towards NTD elimination. In a resource-constrained environment, Nigeria’s growing domestic investments in NTDs represent a powerful model of national ownership and commitment to improving the health and quality of life of its citizens.
From Resolution to Reality: 21 States Step Up
The event marked a major victory in advocacy for NTDs, with a review showing remarkable progress on a key 2024 resolution: "Creating dedicated budget lines for NTDs... at the State level." As a direct result of these efforts, 21 out of 36 states have successfully established dedicated budget lines for NTDs within their 2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). This financial commitment is a powerful demonstration of state-level ownership and a crucial step toward sustainable NTD control and elimination.
States Leading the Charge
The review highlighted several states leading this new financial commitment, demonstrating a clear understanding of the return on investment in health. Top states by 2025 NTD budget allocation include:
- Kano State: NGN 500 million
- Katsina State: NGN 375 million
- Benue State: NGN 290 million
- Zamfara State: NGN 200 million
- Kaduna State: NGN248 million
- Osun State: NGN 150 million
- Imo State: NGN 108 million
- Kebbi State: NGN 100 million
- Niger State: NGNG 80 million
- Oyo State: NGN 75 million
- Abia State: NGN 62 million
- Sokoto State: NGN 58 million
- Taraba State: NGN 50 million
- Plateau State: NGN 35 million
- Adamawa State: NGN 20 million
- Akwa Ibom State: NGN 5 million
- Borno State: NGN 20 million
- Delta State: NGN12 million
- Ondo State: NGN 3 million
- Katsina State: NGN 4.92 million
This tangible progress in Nigeria showcases a powerful, government-led model for sustainable health financing that can be replicated across the continent – demonstrating national commitment that is essential to protecting hard-won health gains and to deliver lasting improvement in people’s lives.