By Saminu Ibrahim
Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPPR), calling for a more equitable, sustainable and accountable global health security architecture.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, stated this while delivering Nigeria’s National Statement on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Salako said Nigeria believes that effective pandemic preparedness must be built on strong public health systems capable of preventing, detecting and controlling infectious disease threats on a daily basis.
He said, “Prevention is preparedness and the strength of everyday public health systems determines how effectively nations detect threats early, respond rapidly, and maintain essential services during crises.”
The minister highlighted Nigeria’s progress in strengthening its legal and institutional frameworks, expanding nationwide digital surveillance, institutionalising the 7-1-7 approach, enhancing genomic sequencing capacity and improving multi-hazard preparedness.
According to him, Nigeria’s public health laboratory network now covers all 36 states, while Public Health Emergency Operations Centres support coordinated responses to outbreaks, including Lassa fever, cholera, diphtheria and meningitis.
He added that Nigeria’s Joint External Evaluation score improved from 39 per cent in 2017 to 54 per cent in 2023.
Salako also said the country was advancing the implementation of the One Health approach, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) governance, infection prevention and control programmes, as well as emergency workforce capacity at national and sub-national levels.
He noted that the $250 million World Bank Health Security Programme was supporting the strengthening of health security capacities at both federal and state levels under a One Health framework.
The minister outlined five national priorities for pandemic preparedness, including strengthening national ownership, governance and legal preparedness; placing prevention at the centre of preparedness; building integrated and resilient One Health systems; advancing equitable access, financing and African manufacturing; and deepening regional and global solidarity and accountability.
Nigeria also called for equity to remain at the centre of the global PPPR agenda, stressing that access to pathogens must be matched by fair, timely and predictable benefit-sharing arrangements, including access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.
The country further advocated sustainable and rapidly accessible financing for low- and middle-income countries, alongside technology transfer and stronger domestic manufacturing capacity, particularly in Africa.
Salako said Nigeria supported a holistic pandemic preparedness and response agenda that recognises the continuing importance of diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and HIV, while calling for commensurate financing for programmes addressing the diseases.
He also emphasised the need to keep AMR firmly embedded in the global PPPR agenda, describing it as both a current public health threat and a multiplier of pandemic risks.
The minister announced that Nigeria would host the fifth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance in December 2026, marking the first time the conference will be held in Africa.
According to him, the conference will provide an opportunity to accelerate measurable One Health action and advance the priorities of low- and middle-income countries.
Salako further stressed the importance of communities as partners in pandemic preparedness, noting that public trust cannot be built only after an emergency begins.
He called for sustained investment in risk communication and community engagement, social listening, community hygiene and infodemic management between emergencies.
The minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening national and regional capacity to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats, while supporting a global pandemic preparedness architecture that is equitable, sustainable, accountable and aligned with nationally determined priorities.
“National ownership and global solidarity must advance together,” he stressed.
