Nigeria seeks more state funding to eliminate tropical diseases by 2030
Nigeria is seeking increased funding from state governments to eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2030, with federal and state authorities targeting higher budgetary allocations for the diseases in the 2027 fiscal year.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare disclosed that 23 states established dedicated budget lines for NTDs in 2026, up from 19 states in 2025. Kano State also pledged an additional N100m towards tackling snakebite envenoming, while the Kaduna State House of Assembly plans to increase its 2027 budgetary commitment by 50 per cent.
The development followed a high-level meeting on NTDs held in Abuja in late October, convened by Uniting to Combat NTDs in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Global Fund. The meeting brought together health commissioners, legislators, programme managers and development partners to discuss strategies for increasing domestic funding.
Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Health, Amos Magaji, pledged to secure a significant portion of basic healthcare provision funds for NTD programmes from 2027, noting that poor budget releases had previously hindered efforts to tackle the diseases.
He said, “For some time now, budget releases have been very poor. But efforts have been made not only to have budgets released for NTDs but to ensure that diseases like these are prioritised in health budgets.”
The National Coordinator for NTDs at the Federal Ministry of Health, Adebayo Peters, said Nigeria had made significant progress in reducing the number of people affected by the diseases, attributing the gains to government support and contributions from implementing partners. Similarly, the Head of Resource Mobilisation at Uniting to Combat NTDs, Gerald Ogoko, urged more states to establish dedicated budget lines in their 2027 budgets.
A major outcome of the meeting was the identification of opportunities for Nigeria to access an additional $7m in external funding from the Reaching the Last Mile Fund in 2027, subject to timely releases of domestic funds by state governments.
According to the Expanded Special Project for the Elimination of NTDs, Nigeria has freed 91.1 million people from the need for lymphatic filariasis treatment. The country also mobilised about N200m in its 2025 national health budget to tackle snakebite envenoming. Nigeria accounts for 25 per cent of Africa’s total burden of NTDs, a group of 21 diseases that can cause disability, disfigurement and death.
