Get Guardian on Google…Says Nigeria needs ₦104.4b annually for health security, Five-year preparedness plan costs ₦522b
…Says no active Ebola case, rules out calls for travel restrictions, election postponement
The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr. Jide Idris, has said that the controversial ₦10 billion emergency intervention fund approved by President Bola Tinubu was not meant for Ebola Virus Disease alone but for strengthening Nigeria’s preparedness against multiple epidemic-prone diseases.
Idris, who made the clarification amid growing public debate over the allocation, said the fund was designed to strengthen prevention, preparedness, early detection and rapid response to public health threats, including Lassa fever, cholera, cerebrospinal meningitis, diphtheria, measles, monkeypox and antimicrobial resistance.
He explained that the ₦10 billion was released directly to the NCDC and not to the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease, contrary to some narratives surrounding the intervention.
The NCDC boss who had during a press conference on Sunday , October 25, 2026, told journalists that the N10 billion has not been released to the agency , did not specify when the fund was eventually released.
Idris who stressed that the allocation was inadequate in view of Nigeria’s growing health security needs, disclosed that implementing the country’s National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS 2.0), covering 2025 to 2029, would cost approximately ₦522 billion over five years.
“This translates to an average annual requirement of ₦104.4 billion, meaning the ₦10 billion intervention represents only about two per cent of the plan’s average yearly cost”.
According to him, Nigeria, with a population exceeding 240 million, requires sustained investments from the Federal Government, state governments and development partners to adequately protect its population against epidemic threats.
Providing a breakdown of government funding for health security, Idris disclosed that NCDC’s allocation increased from ₦4 billion in 2024 to ₦7 billion in 2025, followed by a ₦5 billion intervention fund that year, while the 2026 Appropriation provides ₦22 billion.
He added that President Tinubu approved the additional ₦10 billion emergency intervention funding in June 2026 following the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which raised global concerns about Ebola.
Idris maintained that the request was never restricted to Ebola but covered the broader national health security agenda.
“In June 2026, as the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo became a global emergency, Mr President graciously approved a further ₦10 billion in emergency intervention funding. That fund was requested for all our epidemic-prone diseases, not Ebola alone, and now strengthens work already underway, as we had mobilised resources from government and partners and kept building.
“The gap, however, remains real. The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board estimates that a country needs US$1 to US$2 per person each year to be acceptably prepared for epidemics. For about 240 million Nigerians, that is US$240 million to US$480 million a year. Sustained investment from government, States and partners will close that gap.
This background illustrates the extent to which health security remains underfunded, partly because public investment tends to favour more tangible and immediately visible interventions”, he added.
The NCDC boss said the debate surrounding the ₦10 billion should shift from political controversy to the urgent need for sustainable investment in national health security.
He argued that preventing epidemics, averting deaths and avoiding economic disruption require deliberate financial commitments, warning that the cost of failing to prepare for disease outbreaks could far exceed the cost of prevention.
On the Ebola situation, Idris said Nigeria had confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease, adding that the laboratory confirmation was made on October 20, 2026, within 24 hours of receiving the alert in Abuja.
He, however, assured Nigerians that there was no active case in the country as of the time of his statement, with identified contacts under daily surveillance.
He said surveillance would continue until the last identified contact completes the mandatory 21-day monitoring period without developing symptoms or any new case emerging.
Idris also dismissed calls for the postponement of elections, restrictions on travel or a blanket ban on mass gatherings, insisting that the prevailing situation did not warrant such measures.
According to him, the NCDC has instead developed technical guidelines for organisers of mass gatherings, stressing that strict adherence to infection prevention and control measures would enable public events to proceed safely.
He urged Nigerians to avoid spreading unverified information, warning that misinformation and the politicisation of public health emergencies could undermine public confidence and jeopardise the country’s response efforts.
