The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has defended the Federal Government’s N10 billion emergency intervention fund launched to the company, clarifying that the cash was not meant for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) response alone however to strengthen preparedness towards a number of epidemic-prone illnesses.
The Director-General of NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, mentioned the funding was requested to strengthen the nation’s capability for illness prevention, preparedness, early detection, fast response and resilient restoration from public well being emergencies.
Idris, in an announcement on Monday, defined that the intervention fund coated different illnesses of public well being significance, together with Lassa fever, cholera, cerebrospinal meningitis, diphtheria, measles, monkeypox and antimicrobial resistance.
He mentioned the funding was authorised by President Bola Tinubu in June 2026, following the outbreak of Ebola within the Democratic Republic of Congo, which had turn out to be a world emergency.
According to him, the N10 billion was launched on to NCDC and to not the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President.
He defined that the duty power was established primarily to coordinate the nationwide response, whereas the emergency funding was meant to handle broader well being safety wants.
The NCDC boss mentioned the latest media consideration surrounding the allocation had generated questions and competing narratives, stressing the necessity for correct info throughout public well being emergencies.
He disclosed that the company’s allocation had elevated from N4 billion in 2024 to N7 billion in 2025, adopted by a N5 billion intervention fund in the identical yr, whereas the 2026 Appropriation supplied N22 billion.
Idris, nonetheless, maintained that the extra N10 billion shouldn’t be considered as extreme funding, given the dimensions of Nigeria’s inhabitants and the nation’s illness preparedness necessities.
He mentioned Nigeria, with a inhabitants exceeding 240 million, required sustained funding to forestall outbreaks from escalating into nationwide emergencies.
On the nation’s Ebola response, Idris mentioned Nigeria confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola virus illness on October 20, 2026, inside 24 hours of receiving the alert in Abuja.
He mentioned there was no lively Ebola case on the time of the assertion, though contact monitoring would proceed till all recognized contacts accomplished the obligatory 21-day follow-up interval.
The DG urged Nigerians, policymakers, media organisations and growth companions to assist sustainable funding for the nation’s well being safety system.
