Nigeria’s allocation from the Global Fundan international financing body fighting HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria has been trimmed by 11%, dropping from approximately $970 million to $860 million for the 2024–2026 grant cycle. That’s a gap of over $100 million that now threatens vital healthcare programs across the nation .
At the opening of the 2025 Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) retreat in Lagos attended by parliamentarians, health officials, civil society groups, and partners—the Global Fund’s Nigeria Portfolio Manager, Jean‑Thomas Nouboussi, emphasized the urgent need for Nigeria to step up and close this funding shortfall through domestic means .
In response, lawmakers from the National Assembly have urged for a significant boost in local health financing and tighter oversight of public funds. They’re calling on federal, state, and local governments to increase budget allocations, streamline spending, and hold all health programs accountable.
House Committee on HIV/AIDS, TB & Malaria chair Amobi Ogah criticized previous gaps in parliamentary supervision and demanded transparent spending. Painful lesson: Nigeria cannot rely on foreign funds forever . Senator Samaila Kaila (Bauchi North) also called for constitutional clarity on how billions in foreign health support have been used and if they’ve delivered real results .
Ayo Ipinmoye—former vice‑chair of CCM emphasized “sector‑wide coordination” and urged parliament to take ownership of the funding void. From 2002 to date, the Global Fund has invested about $4.8 billion in Nigeria; now, the country must match the challenge with its own resources .
Nigerian health budget allocations have consistently fallen short hovering between 4% and 5% of federal spending versus the 15% Abuja Declaration target. The CCM’s Executive Secretary, Tajudeen Ibrahim, warned that failure to close the gap could reverse hard-won progress: HIV prevalence, once 5.8%, has dropped to 1.3%; malaria and TB gains are also at stake .
At the CCM retreat, key recommendations emerged: grant the National Assembly a seat on the CCM board to enhance oversight, establish clear domestic financing lines, and engage private sector and civil society more deeply to co-fund health initiatives. The retreat’s theme, “Partnering to Improve Health Systems Outcomes in an Evolving Global Health Financing Landscape,” captures the urgency of this transformative shift
