By Muhammad Amaan
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has clarified that the N10 billion emergency health intervention fund approved by President Bola Tinubu is not exclusively for the country’s Ebola response.
The Director-General of the agency, Dr Jide Idris, said the funding was designed to strengthen Nigeria’s preparedness and response to multiple public health threats.
He explained that the intervention would support disease prevention, early detection and rapid response to outbreaks, including Lassa fever, cholera, meningitis, diphtheria, measles and Mpox.
Addressing concerns over the allocation, the NCDC chief confirmed that the money was released to the agency and not the Presidential Task Force on Ebola.
He, however, acknowledged that the N10 billion allocation was inadequate given the scale of Nigeria’s health security needs.
Dr Idris, in a statement on Monday, explained that the intervention fund covered other diseases of public health importance, including Lassa fever, cholera, cerebrospinal meningitis, diphtheria, measles, monkeypox and antimicrobial resistance.
He said the funding was approved by President Bola Tinubu in June 2026, following the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which had become a global emergency.
According to him, the N10 billion was released directly to NCDC and not to the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President.
He explained that the task force was established primarily to coordinate the national response, while the emergency funding was intended to address broader health security needs.
The NCDC boss said the recent media attention surrounding the allocation had generated questions and competing narratives, stressing the need for accurate information during public health emergencies.
He disclosed that the agency’s allocation had increased from N4 billion in 2024 to N7 billion in 2025, followed by a N5 billion intervention fund in the same year, while the 2026 Appropriation provided N22 billion.
Dr Idris, however, maintained that the additional N10 billion should not be viewed as excessive funding, given the scale of Nigeria’s population and the country’s disease preparedness requirements.
He said Nigeria, with a population exceeding 240 million, required sustained investment to prevent outbreaks from escalating into national emergencies.
On the country’s Ebola response, Idris said Nigeria confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease on October 20, 2026, within 24 hours of receiving the alert in Abuja.
He said there was no active Ebola case at the time of the statement, although contact monitoring would continue until all identified contacts completed the mandatory 21-day follow-up period.
The DG urged Nigerians, policymakers, media organisations and development partners to support sustainable funding for the country’s health security system.
