The coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has emphasised the urgency for Nigeria to strengthen its health sovereignty and reduce dependence on donor funding.
Pointing to the decline in global health funding interventions, the Minister said Nigeria’s health sector is currently financed predominantly from domestic sources, with external funding accounting for less than 10 percent of total expenditure, underscoring the need for the country to take full ownership of its health financing.
Pate spoke in Abuja on Monday at the generative workshop, organised by the National Technical Working Group on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, where he explained that health accounts data from 2005, noting that 90% of Nigeria’s health spending is domestic with one-third from public funding and two-thirds from private out-of-pocket expenses.
This, he said, reflects the need to boost public investment while lessening the burden on households.
The workshop, themed ‘Designing a Transition Pathway to Self-Reliance in Financing Essential Health Services in Nigeria’, convened national and sub-national leaders, development partners, civil society, and technical experts to develop strategies for sustaining essential health services during the 2025–2028 transition period.
Pate stressed that the federal government has already increased allocations to health and released funds for essential commodities.
However, he called on State governments to match this commitment by directing more resources towards HIV, TB, malaria, family planning, and reproductive health services.
“The federal government has done its part, but with increased revenues flowing to the States, we expect them to contribute significantly to programmatic costs and commodities.
“Nigeria cannot build a healthy nation on the back of other people’s money.”
The Minister highlighted the growing risks of over-reliance on donors, pointing to recent suspensions and reductions in foreign assistance.
He argued that the current global health financing model is unsustainable and vulnerable to shifts in international priorities, saying, “We must reinforce sustainable, country-led systems, strengthen local institutions, and take full program ownership”.
One key aspect of this shift, Pate noted, is fostering domestic pharmaceutical production, urging development partners to use Nigeria’s national systems rather than parallel structures and to patronise local manufacturers.
“We must develop the muscle to produce what we need. Buying local strengthens our capacity and safeguards against supply disruptions,” he added.
Pate also emphasised the importance of governance reforms to ensure better coordination and accountability in the health sector, which he said includes integrating services across disease areas, leveraging existing institutional frameworks, and improving efficiency in resource use.
On concerns that the workshop’s recommendations might be ignored, Pate reassured participants that recommendations from the technical working group have already informed budget appropriations and are guiding real-time sector-wide reforms.
He, however, reaffirmed the Federal government’s commitment to building a resilient health system, noting, even with limited resources, Nigeria’s political will is at the highest level to meet the health needs of its citizens.”
The Global Fund commended stakeholders for their collaboration in advancing its objectives, despite ongoing uncertainties in global funding.
In a virtual goodwill message to the workshop, the Fund’s representative noted that principal recipients, sub-recipients, technical partners, multilateral agencies, and government bodies had worked together effectively during the recent review process.
The Fund noted that a clear and shared vision for integration had emerged for the next 18 months of the current grant cycle, driven by the leadership of the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) and the coordinated efforts of implementing partners.
The Fund reaffirmed its commitment to supporting partners and ensuring that grant priorities are delivered as planned.
Earlier, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr. Temitope Ilori, explained the purpose of the gathering, noting that it was designed to enable Nigeria to take the driver’s seat in health sector financing by leveraging existing government structures and mobilising domestic resources to guide policies on maternal and child health, reproductive health and other related programmes.
“Though we are a middle-income country, we have the political will. The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is listening, responsive, and has already facilitated resources to ensure there are no gaps.
“The President has shown strong political will in ensuring Nigeria takes the lead, and we are encouraging State governments to complement the Federal effort,” Ilori stressed
Echoing the call for national ownership of health sector financing, Ilori said, “We must invest more of our own resources to protect the health of our people”.
