The Federal Government has disclosed that it spends about $150 million annually on the procurement of vaccines, amid concerns over 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, sourced from government allocations and development partners such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, covers vaccine procurement, outbreak response, logistics, and nationwide immunisation operations.
He, however, warned that donor contributions were gradually declining, stressing the need for Nigeria to strengthen domestic financing for immunisation 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 to include syringes, cold chain equipment, waste management systems, and operational logistics across the country.
On malaria control, Aina disclosed that the government had expanded malaria vaccine rollout from initial pilot states to more regions following readiness assessments.
He said the programme, which began in Bayelsa State and Kebbi State, had been extended to Bauchi State and Ondo State.
The NPHCDA boss noted that the malaria vaccine requires four doses, posing compliance challenges among caregivers.
“What is unique about the malaria vaccine is that it requires four doses, and ensuring children return for all doses remains a key challenge,” he said.
Providing data on vaccine uptake, Aina revealed that Bayelsa recorded about 68,000 doses administered, Kebbi 153,000, Bauchi 66,000, and Ondo over 7,000 doses.
He added that nearly 1.3 million children had 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 about 600,000 doses of vaccines were currently stored in the national cold chain system.
He emphasised that vaccines remain one of the safest and most cost-effective medical interventions, noting that they undergo rigorous testing and offer protection against deadly diseases such as measles.
“Vaccines are much safer and cheaper than most medicines used for malaria treatment,” he added.
The NPHCDA boss urged Nigerians to sustain confidence in immunisation programmes, assuring that the government was investing in workforce capacity and incentives to strengthen service delivery.
He lamented that despite heavy investments, vaccination programmes often go unnoticed.
Beyond immunisation, Aina said 48,372 women had accessed free maternal healthcare services nationwide, while 2,497 others benefitted from obstetric fistula repair coordinated through federal facilities and the National Health Insurance Authority.
He described the intervention as critical to restoring dignity and improving the quality of life for affected women.
FOLLOW US
