Civil society organisations (CSOs) working on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria have called for coordinated efforts to mobilise domestic resources and reduce Nigeria’s reliance on foreign donors.

The call was made on Wednesday in Abuja during the opening of a three-day workshop on the “Harmonisation of Civil Society Strategies for Domestic Resource Mobilisation (DRM) for HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria.”

Organised by the Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, the workshop brought together key health actors from the public and civil society sectors Including the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP), National AIDS and STI Control Programme (NASCP), National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), Association of Civil Societies on Malaria and Infant Nutrition (ACOMIN), Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), TB Network, and ACT Nigeria.

In her welcome address, the Board Chair of Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, Queen Ogbuji-Ladipo, stressed the urgent need for CSOs to unify efforts across disease programmes and take the lead in domestic resource advocacy.

Ms Ogbuji-Ladipo said it is very pertinent that Nigeria takes ownership of its health financing by moving beyond overreliance on government and external donors, warning that inconsistent funding cannot sustain Nigeria’s fight against infectious diseases.

“We cannot continue to depend indefinitely on the government or on donors. We need to harmonise the existing strategic plans of TB, HIV, and malaria and drive a collective advocacy for sustainable funding,” she said.

She also warned against operating in silos, urging CSOs to become a singular, credible voice that represents vulnerable communities at all levels of government.

Speaking on global trends, she acknowledged that foreign donors are stepping back due to economic pressures and fatigue, placing more responsibility on national actors.

In his remarks, the National Coordinator of ACOMIN and Vice-Chair of Nigeria’s Country Coordinating Mechanism for the Global Fund, Ayo Ipinmoye, urged civil society actors to move beyond dependence on foreign aid and take full ownership of Nigeria’s health outcomes.

Mr Ipinmoye noted that for too long, CSOs have relied on donor funding to implement critical health interventions, while overlooking the importance of building domestic financial systems to support their work.

“Civil society must play its role in holding government and partners accountable. Health is a national responsibility that cannot be outsourced. As partners pull back globally, now is the time to take ownership of our health financing,” he said.

Mr Ipinmoye highlighted the trend of donor fatigue as foreign donors are starting to question the effectiveness of continuous aid, especially when outcomes remain stagnant despite years of financial support.

“When donors keep putting money into malaria, TB, HIV, and the results are stagnant, they begin to think that it’s high time these countries start funding themselves,” he said.

He further stressed the importance of behaviour change and accountability at the grassroots level, pointing to poor utilisation of donor-funded resources like mosquito nets as a key failure point in health interventions.

Also speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of Nigeria’s Country Coordinating Mechanism for the Global Fund, Ibrahim Tajudeen, stressed that Nigeria must meet its co-financing commitments in order to continue accessing funding from international donors.

Mr Tajudeen noted that one of the Global Fund’s key requirements is for countries to provide at least 15 per cent counterpart funding for HIV, TB, and malaria programmes.

“Nigeria has struggled to meet this threshold in the past, and progress has only come when civil society organisations have stepped in to support the mobilisation of resources at the subnational level,” he said.

“It’s been a rough road getting to 15 per cent co-financing. The few times we made progress, it was because of partnerships – with states, and especially with civil society.”

He called for civil society actors to consolidate their strategies across disease areas rather than operate in fragmented silos, emphasising that harmonisation would enable better scale, reach, and efficiency.

Mr Tajudeen noted that integrated CSO efforts would allow local governments to benefit uniformly from advocacy and resource mobilisation efforts, rather than depending on disease-specific silos that leave gaps.

He noted that current funding for malaria interventions is significantly below what is needed, with a shortfall of more than $1 billion, leaving millions without access to prevention and treatment.

“The malaria strategic plan alone is over $2 billion a year and we are facing a deficit of more than $1 billion. We know what’s needed and the issue now is how to fill that gap with real domestic resources.”

He noted that CSOs must not only advocate for funding but also monitor how funds are allocated and utilised to ensure they serve their intended purpose.

The workshop, which continues through Friday, aims to produce a harmonised civil society roadmap for domestic resource mobilisation aligned with national health priorities.

Its overall objectives is to enhance the capacity of CSOs network to develop and implement harmonised strategies and activities for domestic resource mobilisation, promoting sustainability and collective impact.