The federal government, in collaboration with the European Union (EU) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), has launched a  €4.2 million programme to strengthen public health institutions and disease outbreak preparedness nationwide.

Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, said during the inauguration in Abuja on Monday that the initiative would strengthen healthcare delivery and improve preparedness for future disease outbreaks.

“The initiative, tagged EU Support to Public Health Institutes in Nigeria (EU SPIN), will be implemented over a four-year period by the WHO in partnership with the ministry,” Mr Salako said.

Mr Salako described the intervention as a major boost to Nigeria’s healthcare delivery system, noting that it would improve healthcare outcomes, especially for vulnerable populations across communities and underserved areas nationwide.

“This initiative is designed to strengthen our health institutions, and it is truly a welcome development.

“It will improve the well-being of Nigerians, especially our vulnerable populations,” he said.

He commended the European Union and WHO for supporting Nigeria’s healthcare reforms, noting that the programme aligned with the federal government’s Renewed Hope Agenda on healthcare and social development across the country.

European Union ambassador to Nigeria, Gautier Mignon, said the intervention reflected the EU’s commitment to supporting stronger, digitally enabled public health systems to improve healthcare coordination and response nationwide.

“Through EU SPIN, the European Union is investing in strong, digitally enabled public health institutions in Nigeria.

“This partnership reflects our shared commitment to health security and sustainable systems strengthening,” he said.

The WHO representative in Nigeria, Pavel Ursu, said the programme would improve coordination, technical capacity and digital tools required for effective outbreak response, while strengthening integration with primary healthcare and community-based services nationwide.

“By improving coordination, skills and digital tools, the project will help protect lives and keep communities healthier,” Mr Ursu said, adding that stronger systems would improve grassroots response to disease outbreaks nationwide.

Stakeholders said the programme would support improved health outcomes for vulnerable groups, including women, children, internally displaced persons, the elderly and persons living with disabilities across affected communities in Nigeria.

By 2028, the programme is expected to improve inter-institutional coordination, operational responsibilities, and the reliability of public health data across federal, state, and local government levels to strengthen national disease response systems.

Officials said progress under the initiative would be monitored through national evaluation systems, alongside periodic reviews involving government agencies and development partners to ensure effective implementation and measurable healthcare improvements nationwide.

The EU SPIN initiative is expected to strengthen institutional coordination, support real-time data-sharing systems and improve digital skills among public health workers involved in outbreak prevention and emergency response nationwide.

Nigeria continues to face recurrent outbreaks of cholera, diphtheria, Lassa fever, meningitis and mpox, alongside increasing non-communicable diseases, including hypertension and diabetes, which continue placing pressure on healthcare systems nationwide.

According to WHO data, non-communicable diseases account for about 27 per cent of deaths in Nigeria, while malaria contributes approximately 30 per cent of global malaria-related deaths recorded annually in the country. 

(NAN)