The Federal Government of Nigeria has received approximately $191 million from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to strengthen health systems across the country. The announcement was made during the formal launch of the Gavi Health Systems Strengthening Support-3 (HSS-3) initiative held in Abuja on Friday.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

This four-year grant is one of the most significant financial commitments ever made by Gavi, aimed at enhancing vaccine delivery and extending healthcare services, especially to underserved populations. In addition to this grant, Gavi is also investing nearly $100 million in 2025 for a national campaign to immunise over 100 million children against Measles and Rubella.

Lifelong Impact of Gavi Support

Speaking at the launch, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate (represented by Dr. Kamil Shoretire), emphasized Gavi’s long-standing role in saving millions of lives through vaccine support and system strengthening. He noted that Gavi’s interventions have aided Nigeria’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and enabled the introduction of vaccines for HPV, malaria, and Mpox.

Pate reaffirmed the government’s commitment to making quality healthcare accessible and affordable under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, adding that health investment remains a key democratic dividend.

Gavi’s Contributions So Far

Alex de Jonquieres, Gavi’s Director of Health Systems and Immunisation Strengthening, highlighted that since 2000, Gavi’s support has enabled the immunisation of 62 million Nigerian children and prevented two million deaths. Over $2.4 billion in support has been deployed to date, resulting in the introduction of nine vaccines and installation of more than 11,000 cold chain units.

Gavi’s current 10-year Nigeria strategy, launched in 2018, includes $1.1 billion in vaccine procurement and $260 million for system strengthening. It has supported direct interventions in eight states, employed 3,683 health workers, renovated 493 primary health centres, and improved vaccine logistics with new vehicles and cold storage solutions.

Targeting Zero-Dose Children

Despite these strides, Nigeria still has the highest number of “zero-dose” children—those who have never received any routine vaccine. Gavi’s new $191 million HSS-3 grant aims to reach 1.8 million of these children and raise immunisation coverage to 84% by 2028.

The planning of this initiative involved various national and international stakeholders, including WHO, UNICEF, civil society organisations, and private sector contributors. About 80% of the funds will support sub-national programs, with over 10% allocated to community-level CSOs. The National Traditional Leaders’ Committee will also play a key role in grassroots mobilization.

Calls for Continued Government Commitment

While commending the progress made, de Jonquieres urged the Nigerian government to continue increasing domestic investment in health and immunisation and ensure accountability to maximize the impact of the funding.

Dr. Muyi Aina, Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, credited the achievements in PHC and vaccine access to collaborative efforts with Gavi and emphasized that the launch of HSS-3 will bring further improvements in immunisation and healthcare services nationwide.