Nigeria Health Preparedness Protocols Under Scrutiny After Funding Approval

In June, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved N10 billion in emergency intervention funding to strengthen Nigeria’s Ebola preparedness. This was alongside a separate N21.2 million per-state disbursement under the State Outbreak Investigation and Response Fund. Three months after the approval, there was no public breakdown of how the N10 billion was spent, and checks at airports and isolation facilities suggested the preparedness gap remained. A traveler passing through Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, reported that despite completing a digital health declaration form, no checks were performed upon arrival in Nigeria.

The lack of a public accounting for the N10 billion raises questions regarding the execution of the health protocols funded by the state. The incident at the international airport highlighted concerns about the functionality of the preparedness systems in place at the time.