Abuja, Nigeria – The Federal Government has approved 346 million dollars in co-financing for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria programmes in 2026, a move officials say will help strengthen Nigeria’s health response as external funding becomes harder to secure.
Okay News reports that Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Muhammad Ali Pate announced the commitment at the national launch of Lenacapavir, a twice yearly injectable HIV prevention drug, in Abuja, explaining that President Bola Tinubu has directed the Budget Office to capture the 346 million dollars in the 2026 national budget.
Pate said the money will support commodities, laboratory surveillance, reagents, primary healthcare expansion and financial protection for citizens, and argued that the co-financing underscores Nigeria’s push to rely more on domestic resources as global health funding tightens after years of heavy dependence on international partners.
He noted that more than 90 per cent of Nigeria’s health spending is already funded locally, with external grants now playing a catalytic role, and stated that by 2030 the country aims to cover its priority disease programmes largely from domestic budgets rather than foreign aid.
The minister warned that worldwide financing constraints and shifting donor priorities mean Nigeria must “think differently” about sustaining HIV, tuberculosis and malaria control, and he called on civil society and other stakeholders to ensure that approved funds are actually released and used efficiently.
Minister of State for Health Iziaq Salako said Nigeria has made strong gains in HIV indicators, with 93 per cent of people living with HIV knowing their status, 99 per cent of those diagnosed on treatment and 95 per cent of patients on therapy achieving viral suppression, while prevention of mother to child transmission has improved from about 33 per cent in 2023 to nearly 70 per cent in 2025.
Salako described Lenacapavir as a major innovation because it offers a more convenient prevention option for people at high risk of infection, and Permanent Secretary Daju Kachollom said introducing the injectable expands the country’s HIV prevention toolkit at a critical time.
Nigeria recently received its first doses of long acting injectable Lenacapavir for HIV prevention, with an initial rollout now under way in Anambra, Ebonyi, Gombe, Kwara, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Benue and the Federal Capital Territory, although health officials say pregnant women will not yet be eligible because safety data is still limited.
Lenacapavir is given once every six months as pre exposure prophylaxis for people at substantial risk, offering an alternative to daily oral pills for those who struggle with adherence, and authorities say integrating the injection into wider HIV, tuberculosis and malaria investments should help cut new infections and improve long term health outcomes.
