Stakeholders in Nigeria's health sector have expressed concern over the country's weak response to non-communicable diseases due to insufficient funding, poor coordination and lack of institutional capacity. The warnings were issued on Thursday in Nasarawa State during a two-day workshop organised by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Legislative Initiative for Sustainable Development (LISDEL), and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI). The event brought together representatives from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance and Budget, National Assembly, and civil society organisations to strengthen public financing for NCD prevention and control. Muhammed Usman, Vice President of LISDEL, said the meeting aimed to mobilise stakeholders, noting that NCDs are a major public health issue in Nigeria receiving inadequate attention. He cited low budget allocations and stressed that nearly every family is affected, particularly by hypertension. Usman urged budgeting authorities to increase funding for agencies like the NCDC and called for legislative oversight. Prof Emmanuel Alhassan, Country Director of GHAI, said a recent assessment revealed no funding was released for NCDs last year. He highlighted gaps in capacity among non-health ministries and noted the lapse of the previous multisectoral action plan, underscoring the need for a new framework.
Muhammed Usman's statement that "there was no funding release at all for NCDs last year" lays bare the federal government's passive stance toward a crisis that kills silently across income groups and regions. This is not a failure of awareness but of political prioritisation—despite the known burden of hypertension, cancer and diabetes, NCDs remain sidelined in budgetary planning. The fact that agencies like the NCDC, already stretched by infectious disease outbreaks, are being asked to manage chronic conditions without dedicated funding reveals a systemic neglect of long-term health architecture.
The economic logic of underfunding NCDs defies reason. When prevention and early detection are ignored, more Nigerians will eventually require costly emergency and tertiary care, placing greater strain on households and public facilities. The workshop's focus on training non-health ministries underscores how siloed governance weakens policy implementation—finance and planning bodies do not currently treat NCDs as economic threats, only health ones. Yet, with millions undiagnosed and the cost of treatment out of reach for most, the productivity losses are already mounting.
Ordinary Nigerians, especially low- and middle-income families, bear the brunt through out-of-pocket spending, lost workdays and premature deaths. A civil servant managing hypertension or a market trader undergoing cancer treatment faces financial ruin without public support. This is not a future risk—it is the current reality for millions living with undiagnosed or unmanaged conditions. The absence of a functional multisectoral plan means responses remain fragmented and reactive.
This episode fits a broader pattern: Nigeria consistently funds health emergencies while neglecting the structural investments that prevent them.
