Funding for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is rarely top of mind when health ministry policymakers gather. This holds true across the globe. NCDs cause three-quarters of all deaths worldwide, yet they draw only about 1 to 2 per cent of global financing for health and roughly the same share of official development assistance for health. There is no dedicated global fund for NCDs. Domestic budgets and donor money still flow overwhelmingly to communicable diseases.
That is what motivated a recent capacity strengthening workshop that the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoHSW) and the Legislative Initiative for Sustainable Development (LISDEL) jointly convened in the heart of Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The stakes for Nigeria are high. Hypertension alone continues to pose a major public health challenge in the country, affecting an estimated 35 to 40 percent of adults in 2025, according to the country’s State of Health of the Nation Report 2025.
The goal? To ensure that the fight against NCDs—the "silent killers" like hypertension, diabetes and cancer—is backed by the one thing it needs most: sustainable funding.
The Burden of Silence
The workshop opened with a sobering reality check. Muntasir Liman of the FMoHSW presented the latest trends in Nigeria’s NCD burden, illustrating how these diseases are no longer just health issues but significant economic threats that drain household incomes and national productivity.
However, data alone isn't enough to change policy. As Olympus Adebanjo from LISDEL pointed out during his presentation on the NCD financing landscape, there is a critical need to move away from ad-hoc funding toward structured, predictable public investment. Adebanjo’s findings from the MultiSectoral Action Plan (MSAP) capacity needs assessment revealed that while the intent to act exists across government agencies, the technical "know-how" to secure and execute budgets remains a hurdle.
Advocacy in Action: The Power of Political Economy
At GHAI, we believe that advocacy is most effective when it is aligned with political context and backed by evidence. Professor Emmanuel Alhassan, GHAI’s Nigeria Coordinator for NCDs and Immunization, led a high-impact session on Political Economy Analysis for budget advocacy.
"Securing funds for NCDs isn't just about showing a line graph of rising cases," Prof. Alhassan noted. "It’s about understanding the incentives of policymakers, identifying champions within the budget process and navigating the political landscape to ensure NCDs remain a top priority."
To support this advocacy, LISDEL presented a new Multisectoral NCD Budget Tracker. This digital tool is designed to pull back the curtain on government spending, allowing advocates and professionals of concerned Ministries, Departments and Agencies to monitor fund allocations and releases in real-time, ensuring that promises made in policy documents are reflected in the national treasury.
Lessons from the Past, Vision for 2026 and Beyond
As Nigeria transitions from the previous MSAP (which ran from 2019-2025), the workshop provided a critical moment for reflection. Mrs. Bunmi Oshundele (FMoHSW) walked participants through the implementation status of the last six years, celebrating wins while being honest about the lessons learned.
This retrospective fueled a series of forward-looking panel discussions:
Pro-Health Taxes: Experts debated the future of innovative financing, such as "sugar taxes" and other pro-health fiscal policies, as a dual-purpose tool to reduce consumption of harmful products while generating revenue for the health sector.
The Next Multisectoral Plan: Guided discussions focused on the "Investment Case" for the next MSAP. Participants mapped out a roadmap for a revised action plan that is more robust, better funded and more integrated across all sectors of government.
The Road Ahead
The two-day workshop concluded with a shared commitment from Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to stop treating NCDs as a secondary concern. By the end of the session, a clear path had been forged: Nigeria will not only revise its MultiSectoral Action Plan but will ensure it is underpinned by a rigorous investment case and a politically savvy advocacy strategy.
GHAI and LISDEL made a commitment to facilitate a move beyond the workshop room to ensuring that the roadmap developed in Nasarawa leads to a healthier, more resilient Nigeria.
This important work is carried out in close coordination with the Resolve to Save Lives’ Cardiovascular Health initiative.
From left to right: Mr. Marcel Sati - Health Desk Officer, Budget Office of the Federation; Helen Ochayi - Advocacy Specialist for LISDEL; and Damilola Ademuyiwa - Program Director for LISDEL.A cross-section of participants at the workshopFrom Left to right: Dr. Malau Mangai Toma - Head of Cardiovascular Diseases and Tobacco Control, under the Division of Noncommunicable Diseases in the Department of Public Health, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoHSW); and Mrs. Bunmi Oshundele - National Focal Person for the implementation of the Non-Communicable Diseases Multisectoral Action Plan at the Department of Public Health, FMoHSW.
Funding for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is rarely top of mind when health ministry policymakers gather. This holds true across the globe. NCDs cause three-quarters of all deaths worldwide, yet they draw only about 1 to 2 per cent of global financing for health and roughly the same share of official development assistance for health. There is no dedicated global fund for NCDs. Domestic budgets and donor money still flow overwhelmingly to communicable diseases.
We interviewed two of our partner civil society organizations (CSOs) who successfully advocated for domestic funding in epidemic preparedness as part of the first cohort of the Advocacy Accelerator program (2024-2025). What we learned: The impacts continue well beyond after the program ends.
