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Nigeria faces an annual funding gap of $200 million for immunization, according to the Director General of the Budget Office, Dr. Tanimu Yakubu.
Speaking at the Multi-Stakeholders Technical Workshop for the Optimisation of Immunisation Financing in Nigeria, organised by the Vaccine Network for Disease Control in partnership with GAVI and the Global Health Advocacy Initiative, Yakubu emphasised the need for increased public sector funding to address the financial gaps in immunisation.
“Nigeria faces an annual funding gap of $200m out of the required $580m for immunisation. However, considering the public sector’s contribution of only $150m, the actual funding gap is more significant,” Yakubu said.
He emphasized the need for increased public sector funding to address the financial gaps in immunization.
He noted that without international donors like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, the gap would be $430m, highlighting the country’s reliance on external aid.
Yakubu proposed legislation to mandate the public sector to achieve self-sufficiency in vaccine production, storage, and distribution logistics, and recommended bridging the $200 million deficit through increased public sector funding, prioritizing the actual funding gap of $430 million, and leveraging public-private partnerships to establish local vaccine production infrastructure.
The Chairman of the 9th Senate Committee on Health, Sen. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, has emphasized the significance of prioritizing immunization in Nigeria's budget allocation.
He stated that immunization is not solely a health matter, but also an economic and security concern.
Investing in immunization can save lives, reduce healthcare costs, and enhance productivity.
Oloriegbe highlighted the need to address the funding gap for immunization, currently at $200m, and proposed increasing funding for immunization in the budget, exploring ways to boost revenue generation, and reactivating the bio-vaccine initiative to achieve self-sufficiency in vaccine production.
“Legislators have a critical role to play in ensuring that immunisation receives adequate funding. We must work together to prioritise immunisation and make it a national priority,” Oloriegbe said.
He also recommended removing counterpart funding for vaccines from the current supply chain and prioritising immunisation in budget allocation.
“Let’s work together to make immunisation a national priority and ensure that our citizens receive the necessary vaccines to prevent diseases,” Oloriegbe added.
Nigeria is facing a critical vaccine immunisation financing crisis, with outstanding obligations from 2023 still unpaid and the 2024 payment due in June yet to be made.
Decision-makers are urged to take immediate action to settle the outstanding payments, emphasising the importance of prioritising health despite the country's fiscal challenges.
Immunisation is a key pathway to enhancing the health and well-being of all Nigerians, and the federal government is called upon to release counterpart funding for immunisation programmes to address the inadequate funding hindering Nigeria's fight against vaccine-preventable diseases.
The need for local vaccine production is highlighted, as Nigeria's future depends on a healthy population, and a healthy country is a wealthy country.
Stakeholders are working together to bridge funding gaps, enhance immunisation coverage, strengthen accountability, and ensure sustainable financing.
