The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said the N10 billion emergency intervention fund approved by President Bola Tinubu is designed to strengthen the country’s preparedness against multiple epidemic-prone diseases, including Lassa fever, cholera, Ebola, cerebrospinal meningitis, diphtheria, measles and monkeypox.
The agency said the funding was not meant for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) alone but to support broader health security interventions covering disease prevention, preparedness, early detection, rapid response and recovery.
It also clarified that the N10 billion was released directly to the NCDC and not to the Presidential Task Force on Ebola, which was established primarily to coordinate the national response.
The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, gave the clarification in a statement issued on Monday amid public concerns and competing narratives over the allocation following Nigeria’s confirmation of an imported case of Ebola (Bundibugyo) virus disease.
Idris explained that the additional funding was approved in June 2026, following the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to respond to epidemic-prone diseases.
He said the request for the intervention fund predated the country’s confirmed Ebola case and was intended to address wider gaps in national health security.
On the Ebola situation, Idris said Nigeria currently had no active case, noting that the index case was confirmed by the agency’s laboratory on October 20, within 24 hours of receiving the alert in Abuja.
He, however, said the country would continue to monitor all identified contacts until the last person completed the mandatory 21-day follow-up period without any new case emerging.
Idris said the current situation did not warrant postponing elections, banning political campaigns or mass gatherings, or imposing travel restrictions.
“NCDC has recommended none of these. Instead, we have developed technical guidelines for all organisers of mass gatherings. With strict adherence to infection prevention and control and safety protocols, events can go ahead safely,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant without panic, warning that rumours and the politicisation of public health emergencies could undermine public trust and the country’s response efforts.
On the agency’s funding history, Idris disclosed that the NCDC’s allocation increased from N4 billion in 2024 to N7 billion in 2025, followed by a N5 billion intervention fund in the same year.
He added that the 2026 Appropriation provides N22 billion, while the additional N10 billion emergency intervention fund was approved by the President in June.
Despite the allocations, Idris maintained that Nigeria’s health security funding remained inadequate, considering the country’s population of more than 240 million.
Citing estimates by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, he said countries required between $1 and $2 per person annually to achieve an acceptable level of epidemic preparedness.
He said this translated to between $240 million and $480 million annually for Nigeria, stressing the need for sustained investment by federal and state governments as well as development partners.
The NCDC boss further disclosed that Nigeria’s second National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS 2.0), covering 2025 to 2029, had an estimated implementation cost of N522 billion over five years.
According to him, the plan requires an average of N104.4 billion annually, while the N10 billion emergency intervention fund represents about two per cent of the annual requirement.
He explained that NAPHS 2.0 was developed as a multisectoral initiative involving government ministries, departments and agencies, development partners, civil society organisations and other stakeholders under a One Health approach.
The plan is aimed at strengthening the country’s capacity to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats, building on lessons from the implementation of the previous national health security plan, which was constrained by inadequate funding.
Idris said the focus should be on securing sustainable investment in epidemic preparedness rather than viewing the N10 billion allocation in isolation.
“The discussion should not be whether Nigeria can afford to invest adequately in health security, but whether it can afford the human, social and economic consequences of failing to do so,” he said.
He called on policymakers, the media and development partners to advocate sustained and accountable funding for the NCDC and the country’s wider health security system.
The director-general assured Nigerians of the agency’s commitment to transparency, accountability and the responsible use of public resources.
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