June 15, 2026
President Bola Tinubu’s approval of N10 billion as emergency intervention funding to pre-empt a regional surge of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a welcome and necessary step for national health security. Announcing the package alongside the creation of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness signals that the administration understands the need for a proactive public health response.
With the World Health Organisation (WHO) having declared the outbreak in Central and East Africa a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, Nigeria cannot afford complacency. The trauma of 2014 remains fresh in our collective memory: infectious diseases do not respect borders, and delay costs lives. The funding is principally intended to strengthen the operational readiness of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC). That mandate is vital, especially after the House of Representatives warned of crippling funding shortfalls at the agency. For the allocation to have meaningful effect, it must be converted immediately into enhanced laboratory diagnostics, adequate personal protective equipment and expanded epidemiological surveillance capable of rapid case detection and contact tracing.
