For much of the past three decades, global health financing rested on the expectation that external assistance would continue to expand alongside the health needs of developing countries. That expectation is now less certain, as fiscal pressures in donor countries, changing political priorities and recent disruptions to established programmes reshape how health partnerships are financed and managed. Nigeria must prepare for that change without surrendering the gains those partnerships have helped to achieve.
The implications are especially clear in immunisation, where nearly 10 million children are born in Nigeria each year. Each cohort must be reached with the vaccines already in the national schedule, while new vaccines are introduced only where the burden of disease, the evidence and the capacity of the health system justify them. With one of the largest birth cohorts in the world, Nigeria is among the most demanding immunisation settings globally.
Against this background, Gavi’s announced support of about US$500 million between 2026 and 2030 at a meeting with President Tinubu is a welcome boost. It will help finance vaccines, strengthen delivery and surveillance, maintain the cold chain and reach children who remain outside routine services. The support is provided within Gavi’s co-financing model, under which participating governments meet a share of vaccine costs and take on more as their capacity grows. Under Gavi 6.0, the Alliance’s 2026–2030 strategy, country leadership and the long-term sustainability of national immunisation programmes remain central to the way support is provided.
