Report from LEADERSHIP shows that Nigeria’s fight against tuberculosis (TB) is facing a severe financial crisis, with a $404 million gap in funding in 2025 following a drop in U.S. support. Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) Executive Secretary Mr. Tajudeen Ibrahim raised the matter at a Pre-World TB Day press conference in Abuja, warning that the deficit could compromise the country’s TB response.
TB Funding Crisis and TB Treatment Impact
The Global Fund has only committed $89 million to Nigeria’s TB response in 2025, and further cut down to just $16 million in an estimate for 2026. Meanwhile, the withdrawal of U.S. funding has already generated a $5 million gap in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
Unless we raise the $404 million required for TB in 2025, we will not be able to run a full TB program,” Ibrahim cautioned. He noted that Nigeria’s TB budget was already strained in 2024, when the country treated 418,000 cases penny-pinching on the medicines reserved for 2025. The withdrawal of U.S. funding, which supported case-finding activities in 18 states, has already interrupted detection and treatment programs.
Nigeria’s Burden and Progress against TB
Dr. Godwin Ntadom, Director of Public Health at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, acknowledged Nigeria’s success in detecting TB highlighting areas of continuing challenges. Nigeria ranks first in Africa and sixth in the world among countries with a high burden of TB, according to the 2024 WHO Global TB Report.
In 2023, an estimated 499,000 Nigerians got sick from TB disproportionately affecting those 25–44 years old, further solidifying poverty and economic costs. Even as a record rate of TB notifications in 2024 was reached, gaps for identification of over 400,000 cases persist, particularly in identification of “missing” TB cases that drive transmission.
Dr. Ntadom also emphasized alarm at the low rate of drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) patients enrolled in treatment programs over the last five years. He cautioned that a patient with untreated TB can infect as many as 15 people a year, underlining the imperative for improved case management and screening.
Government Response and Call for Investment
This year’s World TB Day, themed “YES! WE CAN END TB – COMMIT. INVEST. DELIVER.”, calls for increased investment in TB eradication. Dr. Ntadom urged government agencies, private sector partners, and civil society to step up funding and expertise to fight the disease.
Hon. Amobi Godwin Ogah, who chairs the House Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, was pleased to see the latest ₦700 billion injection of funds into disease control efforts by the federal government. He reinforced that Nigeria should take responsibility for its healthcare industry, further noting, “Nobody can help us except when we help ourselves.”
To ensure accountability, the committee has vowed to monitor the transparent disbursement of funds. Legislative recommendations are:
- Building a private sector-driven TB treatment hospital
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Scaling up the Global Fund’s TB allocation from 18% to 30%
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Enacting a law to shield TB patients from stigma and discrimination
The Way Forward
Stakeholders advocated for more TB screening programs, better case management, and improved public awareness. Early diagnosis and treatment of exposed people to prevent TB remain essential to reducing the disease burden.
Although TB is curable and preventable, it continues to claim thousands of lives daily. Unless there is immediate funding and strategic intervention, Nigeria may roll back the gains of recent years.
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