THE Federal Government has released N68 billion for vaccine financing and deployed N50 billion to settle outstanding arrears for health workers.
News Point Nigeria reports that the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, announced this on Thursday at the 66th meeting of the National Council on Health in Calabar, Cross River State, themed, “My health, my right: Accelerating universal health coverage through equity, resilience, and innovation.”
Pate said the N68 billion has already been credited to the account of the National Primary Health Care Agency, with the Central Bank of Nigeria set to process the funds for UNICEF.
The move comes amid ongoing efforts by the federal and state governments to accelerate progress toward Universal Health Coverage and strengthen primary healthcare systems nationwide.
The National Council on Health, a high-level governance body responsible for formulating and coordinating health policies across the country, brings together federal and state health leaders to assess progress and set strategic directions for the sector.
According to Pate, both the Federal and State Governments must use available resources effectively to improve the health and well-being of the population.
“From the Federal Government side, I have a lot of good news to share. For those who attended the Joint Annual Review last week, we got approval on Friday for N68 billion for vaccine financing to be released. Last night, the money was in the account of the Primary Health Care Agency, and today, the CBN will start processing it for UNICEF to receive,” he said.
“That is a tangible indication of the seriousness with which we take health spending, ensuring that resources are increasingly becoming available. It’s not an inconsequential commitment, and I thank the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Budget for ensuring that these resources come through.
“Similarly, there were outstanding arrears from a couple of years ago for health workers. The Minister of Finance was able to deploy N50 billion. I am highlighting this to show the link between increasing revenues and federal spending, and to urge all states to continue to mirror this by not only allocating additional resources but also deploying them where needed in the health sector. As we look forward, we expect faster progress in reaching Nigeria’s Universal Health Coverage targets,” he added.
Last week, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, announced that Nigeria is seeking to raise nearly N150 billion to fund vaccine procurement for 2025 and 2026.
Edun revealed this at the 2025 Joint Annual Review of the Health Sector, themed “All Hands, One Mission: Bringing the Nigerian Health Sector to Light.”
“The health sector budget in 2025 rose by nearly 60 per cent, and the Basic Health Care Provision Fund has more than doubled from N31.5 billion in 2024 to nearly N299 billion in 2026,” Edun said.
“Similarly, with immunisation, we are actively seeking to raise additional funds, around N150 billion, to cover vaccine procurement needed for 2025 and 2026.
We also know that the budget for health is now over five per cent 5.2 per cent of the national budget, up from just over three per cent a couple of years ago. Health is being prioritised. Our commitment is to close the gap between appropriation and the release of funds.”
He added that it is crucial to maximise domestic resource mobilisation, noting that today’s world depends heavily on multilateral and global collective efforts.