Nigeria’s Kano State Increases Investments in Epidemic Preparedness

At the end of December 2021, Kano, a state in Nigeria, significantly increased funding for epidemic preparedness and response (EPR). On December 22, 2021, the Executive Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 State Budget which included a 33% increase in funding for Kano’s epidemic preparedness and response budget line created in FY 2021. In addition, the 44 local government areas within Kano State increased funding for EPR by 50%. These increases demonstrate Kano’s ongoing commitment to funding epidemic preparedness and response.

Since 2020, the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) has supported advocacy for increased investments in epidemic preparedness in Kano, working with civil society organizations and local partners including the Legislative Initiative for Sustainable Development (LISDEL), Nigeria Health Watch, BudgIT, the Kano State Health Security Advocacy Team (KSHSAT), Kano Civil Society Forum and other civil society coalitions. These advocacy efforts have included mobilization of civil society, continuous engagement with high-level decision-makers and the media, to build support for increased budgets and the political will to secure this funding.

This year, in addition to advocating for increased epidemic preparedness and response funding, GHAI and civil society partners are working to ensure the release and efficient spending of allocated funds, building on relationships forged with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Budget, the Ministry of Local Government, through the Kano State Department of Public Health, and members of the Kano State House of Assembly, among other ministries, departments, and agencies. GHAI, LISDEL, and the KSHSAT are also working with policy leaders in the state to identify additional funding sources for EPR.

“Kano’s commitment to health security and preventing future epidemics is a model that other global leaders should follow,” said Ann Danelski, Program Lead for the Prevent Epidemics program at GHAI.

Representatives from GHAI, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Budget, the Ministry of Local Government, civil society partners, and the media at a December roundtable organized by LISDEL focusing on the efficient release and utilization of EPR funding in Kano State.

Funding for the Prevent Epidemics program provided by Resolve to Save Lives.