Nigeria Urges Increased Investment in Primary Healthcare

On Thursday in Abuja, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, urged state governments to enhance investment in primary healthcare and immunisation during the Quarterly Review Meeting of the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Health Care (NTLC). He praised northern traditional rulers for their 15-year contributions to improving immunisation and maternal and child healthcare.

Pate welcomed Gavi's commitment of $500 million to Nigeria from 2026 to 2030, aimed at supporting vaccine procurement and primary healthcare services. He stressed the importance of Nigeria progressively financing its own health system and warned of the emergence of circulating variant poliovirus type 3 in high-risk states, calling for urgent action.

Pate encouraged traditional rulers to combat vaccine hesitancy to ensure all eligible children receive routine immunisation. Dr. Muyi Aina, Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), reported improvements in immunisation coverage, including a 10.5 percentage point increase in the second dose of the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV2) within a year.