The House of Representatives has promised to keep working on improving how Nigeria pays for immunisation in a way that can last long-term.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Healthcare Services, Rep. Amos Magaji, said this at a meeting held in Abuja to discuss better ways to fund immunisation in Nigeria.
Magaji explained that a good funding system is very important to make sure children keep getting vaccines and to stop disease outbreaks—especially now that financial support from international donors is going down.
He added that Nigeria must build a strong funding system for immunisation to keep people safe from diseases that vaccines can prevent.
He praised the National Health Act of 2014, which says all children under five and pregnant women must be vaccinated against dangerous diseases.
He said this law shows why it is important to take early action to prevent vaccine-preventable diseases from harming society.
Magaji said he was concerned that Nigeria is not spending enough of its own money on immunisation, and that most of the support still comes from foreign donors.
He warned that this lack of local funding could hurt the health of the country and make it harder to reach the goal of health care for everyone.
One of the problems, he said, is that Nigeria has depended too much on outside help for years, which made people pay less attention to funding immunisation locally.
Magaji urged the government to spend more on immunisation using the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, and to bring in support from private companies and creative funding methods.
He said a strong, long-term plan to fund immunisation needs teamwork from different sectors, including public, private, and community efforts, along with strong laws to protect it.
He stressed that moving from relying on donors to using Nigeria’s own money should be based on clear data, accountability, and planning that includes everyone.
He added that meetings like the one they were having are the first step toward making this change.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ipalibo Harry, said it is not okay for Nigeria to still be one of the countries where many children under five are not vaccinated.
She asked all groups involved to work together to solve the problem of low vaccination rates.
She thanked the House of Representatives for organizing the meeting, saying it came at the right time.
Dr. Salma Anas, the Special Adviser to the President on Health, confirmed President Bola Tinubu’s promise to provide health care for everyone.
She said the meeting supports the President’s goal to make sure no one is left out of immunisation—especially children and women.
Senator Tony Nwoye, Deputy Chairman of the Senate Committee on Primary Healthcare, said Nigerians should treat immunisation as a top priority.
He described immunisation as the first important step toward building a strong and reliable health care system, calling it one of the cheapest and most effective ways to save lives.
He praised the progress Nigeria has made in fighting vaccine-preventable diseases, but warned that depending too much on foreign aid puts this progress at risk.
He said Nigeria needs to build a system that uses its own money to make sure vaccines and immunisation services are always available.
Mrs. Chika Offor, the CEO of Vaccine Network for Disease Control, said that only steady and reliable funding can lower the number of children who never get any vaccines.
She was happy to see that many groups are now fully committed to making immunisation a priority.
She added that this commitment means funding will now start coming in.
Offor also warned that there’s currently a diphtheria outbreak, and more outbreaks will happen if vaccines are not available when needed.
