The Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr Temitope Ilori, on Wednesday, 24 June, 2026 said Nigeria is now better positioned to respond to future disease outbreaks following strategic investments made under the Global Fund’s COVID-19 Response Mechanism between 2021 and 2025.
Ilori said the intervention, which was introduced to support countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, has left behind stronger disease surveillance systems, improved laboratory networks, enhanced emergency response mechanisms and a more resilient health infrastructure capable of responding to future public health threats.
NACA boss stated this through a statement issued on Wednesday, 24 June, 2026 ahead of a national close-out meeting convened in collaboration with the Global Fund and key implementing partners to review the achievements, lessons learned and long-term impact of the COVID-19 Response Mechanism investments in Nigeria.
According to Ilori, the investments made during the COVID-19 era were no longer limited to pandemic response but had become an integral part of Nigeria’s broader health security framework.
“We learned through COVID-19 that being prepared for one emergency isn’t just about that emergency, it’s about being prepared for any emergency. C19RM investments in emergency response mechanisms, supply chain resilience and rapid deployment capacity are now embedded in our health systems planning and programming,” she said.
According to NACA, the COVID-19 Response Mechanism supported Nigeria’s efforts to mitigate the impact of the pandemic while strengthening critical components of the country’s health system and safeguarding gains made in the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
The agency noted that the intervention funded improvements in disease surveillance, laboratory systems, infection prevention and control measures, oxygen infrastructure, cold-chain systems, healthcare workforce capacity and emergency response operations across the country.
