FG spends $150 million per year on vaccines as donor support declines – NPHCDA

The federal government has revealed it spends around $150 million a year on vaccine procurement, amid concerns about dwindling support from international donors.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Muyiwa Aina, made this known on Tuesday during the agency’s first quarterly media briefing for 2026 held in Abuja.

Aina said the funding, coming from government allocations and development partners such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, covers vaccine procurement, outbreak response, logistics and nationwide immunization operations.

He, however, warned that donor contributions were gradually declining, underscoring the need for Nigeria to strengthen domestic funding for immunization programmes.

“Countries are now expected to increase domestic financing as global donor resources continue to shrink,” he said.

According to him, the cost of vaccine delivery goes beyond procurement and includes syringes, cold chain equipment, waste management systems and operational logistics across the country.

On malaria control, Aina revealed that the government has expanded the malaria vaccine rollout from initial pilot states to more regions following preparedness assessments.

He said the programme, which started in Bayelsa State and Kebbi State, has been extended to Bauchi State and Ondo State.

The NPHCDA chief noted that the malaria vaccine requires four doses, posing compliance challenges among health workers.

“What’s unique about the malaria vaccine is that it requires four doses and ensuring that children return for all doses remains a key challenge,” he said.

Providing data on vaccine uptake, Aina revealed that Bayelsa recorded around 68,000 doses administered, Kebbi 153,000, Bauchi 66,000 and Ondo over 7,000 doses.

He added that nearly 1.3 million children have received at least one dose across the four states, with Kebbi and Bayelsa accounting for 984,559 children, while Ondo and Bauchi recorded 166,342 and 105,890 respectively.

Aina also disclosed that approximately 600,000 doses of vaccines are currently stored in the national cold chain system.

He stressed that vaccines remain one of the safest and cheapest medical interventions, stressing that they undergo rigorous testing and offer protection against deadly diseases such as measles.

“Vaccines are much safer and cheaper than most medicines used to treat malaria,” he added.

The NPHCDA boss urged Nigerians to maintain confidence in immunization programmes, assuring that government is investing in workforce capacity and incentives to strengthen service delivery.

He lamented that despite huge investments, vaccination programs often go unnoticed.

In addition to immunization, Aina said 48,372 women have accessed free maternal health services nationwide, while another 2,497 have benefited from obstetric fistula repair coordinated through federal facilities and the National Health Insurance Authority.

She described the intervention as crucial to restoring dignity and improving the quality of life of the affected women.

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