The Federal Government has announced plans to end reliance on donor funding for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV programmes by 2030, as part of a broader strategy to ensure sustainable healthcare financing in Nigeria.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed this during the 2026 World Tuberculosis Day 2026 commemoration in Abuja.
The event also featured the launch of the Multisectoral Accountability Framework for TB (MAF-TB) and the introduction of Lenacapavir, a long-acting injectable HIV prevention drug.
According to the minister, Nigeria is repositioning its health financing model to ensure that critical disease control programmes are funded locally rather than relying on external grants.“We are working towards a future where Nigeria can independently finance its response to diseases that significantly affect its population,” he said.
Prof. Pate explained that declining global health funding has made it necessary for countries to adopt innovative financing strategies, integrate services, and use resources more efficiently to sustain progress.
As part of the transition, the government plans to inject an additional $346 million into TB, HIV, and malaria programmes in the 2026 budget, alongside strengthening accountability systems to ensure effective utilisation of funds.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said Nigeria is adopting a sector-wide approach to harmonise disease control efforts and eliminate fragmented interventions.
He noted that under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, TB and HIV services will be integrated, while partner support will align with national priorities to ensure essential services remain free at the point of care.
Salako highlighted progress in TB control, revealing that case detection increased from about 138,000 in 2020 to 440,000 in 2025, driven by expanded diagnostic capacity, including the scale-up of GeneXpert and TrueNat machines.
On HIV, he said Nigeria is approaching global targets, with 93 per cent of people living with HIV aware of their status, 99 per cent of diagnosed individuals on treatment, and 95 per cent of those on therapy achieving viral suppression. He added that prevention of mother-to-child transmission has also improved significantly.
Representatives of the Global Fund commended Nigeria’s integrated approach to TB and HIV interventions. Speaking on behalf of the organisation, Jean-Thomas Nouboussi described the rollout of the injectable prevention drug as a major step toward reaching underserved populations.
He disclosed that the Global Fund aims to reach about two million people with the drug by 2028, with Nigeria expected to receive nearly 180,000 doses within the same period.
However, he cautioned that sustained progress in TB control would depend heavily on increased domestic investment, warning that funding gaps could reverse gains made in recent years.
Meanwhile, the National Coordinator, Abdulkadir Ibrahim, called for expanded government funding and equitable access to new prevention tools, urging authorities to ensure that innovations like injectable prophylaxis reach those most in need.
Reporting by Annabel Nwachukwu