THE Health Sector Reform Coalition has expressed regret over difficulties in accessing health sector funds trapped in the service-wide vote (appropriation that covers expenditures of multiple government agencies often controlled by the Presidency)
The coalition said immunisation funds of about N168 billion and several counterpart funds for donor-related health sector programmes were warehoused at service-wide vote, thereby creating difficulties in accessing them.
The Chairman of the Health Sector Reform Coalition, Muhammed Mustafa Lecky, disclosed this on Friday, February 13, in Abuja and stressed the importance of a disaggregated federal budget funding model to fund key sectoral projects in the health sector.
“The service-wide vote, even by its name services almost everything in service and creates lots of bottlenecks. On the flipside, it promotes discretion and corruption in its spending.
“How can something that belongs to the health ministry, such as immunisation, be warehoused in the service-wide vote?” That is not a way to fund a disaggregated federal institution budget,” Lecky added.
He explained that the coalition had engaged the legislature on the importance of aligning the health sector budget to ministries and agencies of the government for easier releases.
He noted, however, that the legislature had been unable to address the matter.
The ICIR reports that the Minister of Health, Muhammed Ali Pate, a professor, recently disclosed that the ministry was only able to access N35 million of its N218 billion capital budget in 2025.
Lecky expressed regret over this. He said “almost all the vaccine procurement in Nigeria comes from donor sources”, adding that, “What we do is to provide counterpart funds. So, if releases are slow, it becomes severe for immunisation and community services.”
According to Lecky, immunisation is at the heart of primary health care funding and creates numerous maternal and infant problems if budget releases are not made early enough.
“If our immunisation, which is at the core of our primary health care centre, is largely funded by donors, that will tell you where our priority is.”
He stressed that budget appropriations without corresponding cash backing undermined the credibility of Nigeria’s planning frameworks, foretelling grave danger for the ongoing Health Sector Strategic Blueprint under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative.
In his submission, the Lead Director for the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Eze Onyekpere, a member of the coalition, told The ICIR that the discretionary handling of health funds warehoused in the service-wide vote created problems for health sector funding.
“If the Health Ministry is not responsible for the funds allotted to health, how will it take blame for the underfunding of the health sector-related projects? Not just the immunisation fund, GAVI and other counterpart funds are warehoused at the service-wide vote and at the discretion of the Presidency. We must ensure that these funds are captured in the ministry’s budget to know who to hold responsible when a health programme fails, “Onyekpere said.
The ICIR reports that the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare got N2.19 trillion allocation in the 2026 budget proposal, representing 4.98 per cent of the budget. This is also inclusive of the N214.9 billion provided for the basic health care provision.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.
Insightful and important reporting 👏
You’ve clearly exposed how warehousing immunisation and donor counterpart funds under the service-wide vote creates delays, weakens accountability, and threatens primary healthcare delivery. When critical health allocations are inaccessible, maternal and child health services suffer most.
Strong advocacy for transparent, ministry-aligned budgeting is essential for protecting Nigeria’s immunisation programmes and overall health system performance. Keep writing impactful policy-focused health analyses like this—they truly drive accountability and reform.