Nigeria’s Government Urged to Fund Pandemic Research

The Academy of Medical Sciences says Nigeria’s Federal Government has left the country exposed to pandemics, with too little investment in biomedical research and continued reliance on foreign vaccine sources. The warning concerns who controls preparedness: government choices about health research determine whether Nigeria can develop its own responses or must depend on what other countries produce.

Who Sets the Research Priorities

At the Academy’s 2026 yearly scientific conference in Lagos, Azeez Butali, a professor of Orofacial Clefts at Lowa University, United States, urged Nigeria to stop reacting to outbreaks and invest in research that could deliver homegrown solutions. The conference theme was “The Genetics and Genomics of Non-communicable Diseases: Integrating Science into Clinical Care.”

Butali questioned the continued focus on early detection and screening. He said Nigeria’s approach to fighting Ebola had changed little in the 12 years since the 2014 outbreak. His criticism targeted the government, not medical practitioners: he said it hadn’t invested enough in biomedical research, including human genome research. That distinction matters. The people delivering care aren’t the ones he blamed for the research shortfall.

The Academy’s warning places the cost of that choice on the wider population. Butali said more government investment could lower medicine costs and improve access to treatments developed locally. The source gives no spending figure or government response. It contrasts Nigeria’s reliance on foreign vaccine sources with other countries’ heavy investment in biomedical research.

The Cost of Knowing Too Little

Genome studies have helped scientists identify genetic variants linked to thousands of diseases and traits, Butali said. He described each genomic discovery as a potential future therapy. Without adequate investment, Nigeria risks having less capacity to develop treatments at home, while people who need care face the access and cost concerns raised at the conference.

Academy foundation President Prof. Oladapo Ashiru said Nigeria had identified only about two per cent of its genomic-related disease burden. Many genetic conditions remain undiagnosed and potentially preventable, he said. The figure gives the research gap a human consequence: conditions go unidentified, and chances to prevent them may be missed.

Ashiru urged the government to prioritise healthcare investment, arguing that the health of a nation’s population is fundamental to its economic prosperity. But the account reports calls for action, not a commitment, policy change, or funding decision. It records no grassroots organising, mutual aid, or direct action in response, and no electoral or legislative proposal. The people affected by undiagnosed conditions remain unnamed in the account. Institutional speakers make the case, while the government remains the decision-maker they’re pressing to act.