The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has urged a shift from crisis-driven private sector donations to structured, long-term co-investment to strengthen Nigeria’s health security and protect economic stability.
The call followed the release of the Outcome Report of the NCDC–Private Sector Engagement Roundtable on Health Security. NCDC Director-General, Dr. Jide Idris, made the remarks on Monday in Abuja.
Idris highlighted that recurrent outbreaks of infectious diseases such as Lassa fever, cholera, diphtheria, meningitis, yellow fever and mpox have exposed structural vulnerabilities beyond the health sector, affecting productivity, business continuity, and investor confidence.
“Every outbreak reduces workforce productivity, disrupts supply chains, increases employer healthcare costs, and weakens economic resilience,” he said, noting that health security is no longer solely a public sector concern but also an economic and investment imperative.
He explained that Nigeria’s current preparedness architecture cannot be sustainably financed by government and development partners alone, particularly amid shrinking donor funding and rising disease threats driven by urbanisation, climate shocks, and regional mobility.
“The private sector, which contributes nearly 90 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP, must evolve from an ad-hoc donor during emergencies to a strategic co-architect of national resilience,” Idris said, citing the Coalition against COVID-19 (CACOVID) as an example of successful emergency collaboration.
However, he stressed that emergency generosity alone is not enough, calling for predictable, multi-year co-investment anchored in governance, accountability and national priorities.
The NCDC engagement roundtable marked a deliberate shift to a structured partnership model, aligned with the National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) 2.0 (2024–2028) and the Antimicrobial Resistance National Action Plan (AMR NAP) 2.0. The outcome report draws on lessons from CACOVID, the Africa CDC, and global best practices such as the U.S. CDC Foundation model.
“Preparedness is cheaper than response, and far cheaper than disruption. When health security fails, businesses bear the cost through absenteeism, supply chain disruptions, rising insurance premiums and declining consumer confidence,” Idris said.
The report identifies priority areas for private sector co-investment, including digital disease surveillance and data systems, laboratory and genomic capacity, emergency preparedness and response infrastructure, logistics and supply chains, risk communication, and workforce development.
“Our surveillance systems remain fragmented, laboratory and genomics capacity is limited, and sub-national preparedness is uneven. Addressing these gaps requires blended public-private co-investment,” he said.
As next steps, the NCDC plans to launch a Private Sector Call to Action and establish an institutional Private Sector Health Security Advisory Council to provide a structured platform for private sector leaders to advise, co-create, and co-invest alongside public sector governance structures.
“Investing in health security should not be viewed as corporate social responsibility, but as a strategic investment that protects markets, strengthens workforce resilience, and supports long-term profitability,” Idris said.
He warned that Africa could lose up to $22.4 billion over the next decade if surveillance gaps and vaccine-preventable diseases are not addressed, while poor health outcomes already cost the continent trillions of dollars annually in lost productivity.
“For Nigerian businesses, sustained investment in national health security is about risk reduction, ESG performance, and long-term market stability,” he said, noting that further details on the council and nomination process would be communicated in the coming days.
“Nigeria’s health security is a shared national responsibility. With structured partnerships, transparent governance, and sustained co-investment, we can build a resilient health security system that protects lives, livelihoods, and the stability of the Nigerian economy,” Idris concluded.