Nigeria needs a lot of money—$1 billion over the next five years—to keep giving important vaccines to children and people all across the country. This was shared by Dr Muyi Aina, the boss of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA). He spoke during a big meeting in Abuja, where many people from different parts of the health sector came together to talk about how to find enough money to keep immunisation (vaccination) going strong.
What Is Immunisation?
Immunisation means giving people vaccines to protect them from dangerous diseases like polio, measles, or even cervical cancer. Vaccines are special medicines that help the body fight diseases before they can make someone very sick.
Why Nigeria Needs So Much Money
Dr Aina explained that Nigeria has done well in giving vaccines to children in the past few years. In fact, in 2024 alone:
3 million children who had never received a single vaccine (called zero-dose children) were finally vaccinated.
14 million girls were given the vaccine to protect them from cervical cancer.
91 million vaccine doses were given out in total across the country.
Over 10,000 cold chain units (machines that keep vaccines cold so they don’t spoil) were working in different parts of Nigeria.
But all these things cost a lot of money. And right now, the country doesn’t have enough. Even though the government planned to spend money on vaccines in 2024, only 21% of the budgeted money has actually been released. That’s just a small part of what’s needed.
Dr Aina warned that if Nigeria doesn’t get the rest of the money soon, all the progress made so far could be lost. He said, “We need one billion dollars in the next five years to keep buying vaccines for everyone. But if we don’t get enough money, we might lose the good progress we’ve already made.”
Who Pays for Vaccines in Nigeria?
In Nigeria, it’s not just the Federal Government that is supposed to pay for vaccines. All levels of government—federal, state, and local—are supposed to work together to make sure vaccines reach people.
The Federal Government usually takes the biggest role, especially when it comes to buying the vaccines. But other groups help too. One big helper is an international group called Gavi. They give money and support to Nigeria so that more people can get vaccinated.
However, Gavi won’t always give money forever. Nigeria is now preparing for a future where it must take full control of its own immunisation program without Gavi’s help. That’s why it’s so important for Nigeria to start raising more money by itself.
How Will Nigeria Raise the Money?
At the meeting, experts and government officials talked about many ideas to raise money for vaccines, such as:
Making better use of the money the country already has.
Getting money from special taxes.
Asking private companies to help out.
Making sure communities understand the importance of vaccines and support the program.
Creating strong rules to make sure money is used the right way.
They said it’s very important that everyone—leaders, communities, and even regular citizens—work together to keep vaccines going strong in Nigeria.
Why Vaccines Matter
Experts said that without enough money, even the best vaccines won’t be able to reach the children and families who need them most. That would mean more people could get sick from diseases that can be prevented.
Dr Aina said that giving vaccines is not just the job of the federal government—it’s something every part of the country should care about. “Vaccines protect our children, our families, and the future of our country’s health system,” he said.
