Some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have called on the Federal Government to increase the Tobacco Control Fund (TCF) beyond the N13 million allocated to it in the national budget for 2025, in order to protect public health.
The Nigerian Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) made the call at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday.
The Executive Director of CAPPA, Mr Akinbode Oluwafemi, said that increasing funding to a minimum of N300 million annually would allow for more effective prevention programmes, public awareness campaigns, and access to cessation support for those wanting to quit.
Oluwafemi recalled that in 2023, Nigeria allocated N4.7 million in the national budget to the TCF, its first-ever financial commitment to the Fund.
He said that following sustained stakeholder advocacy about the gross inadequacy of this sum, it doubled the amount to N10 million in 2024, and now N13 million in the 2025 budget.
According to him, these year-on-year increases are no doubt a step in the right direction. However, they are a far cry from the “at least” N300 million needed for the operationalisation of the Fund.
“Nigeria’s failure to close this tobacco control funding gap has made legislative efforts at tobacco control ineffective with severe consequences for public health and the economy.
“As the leading preventable cause of death and diseases, tobacco kills half of its regular users.
“In fact, according to the Federal Government’s records, no fewer than 26,800 persons die in Nigeria each year from tobacco or tobacco-linked diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, cancers and stroke risks,’’ Oluwafemi said.
According to him, tobacco-related illnesses also lead to catastrophic health expenditures, particularly for the poor, trapping families in a cycle of poverty.
“Moreover, tobacco cultivation eats up large swaths of land which could otherwise support sustainable food production systems. Tobacco production further depletes vital resources such as land and water, diverting them from sustainable food production.
“Additionally, trillions of discarded plastic cigarette butts pollute our ecosystems every year, further harming the planet,’’ he said.
The Country Coordinator, CTFK, Mr Michael Olaniyan said the increase in tobacco control fund became necessary as development donors like the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) pulled out of supporting Nigeria’s preventable diseases and programmes.
Olaniyan urged the Federal Government to borrow a leaf from countries like Kenya and South Africa that allocated adequate monies for implementation of tobacco control.
Also speaking, Programme Officer of NTCA, Mr Chibuike Nwokorie, expressed concern over lack of transparency on the monies previously budgeted and released into the Fund account.
According to Nwokorie, the National Tobacco Control Act requires that funds allocated for tobacco control in the national budget or from other sources are to be remitted to the Tobacco Control Fund account for utilisation.
“We urge the Federal Ministry of Health to provide an update on the status of the Tobacco Control Fund, explicitly detailing the current balance, sources of the monies in the Fund and details of previous spendings from the Fund,” he said.
NAN
