Health workers have disclosed that the nationwide stock-out has persisted for nearly two months, with available supplies insufficient to meet patients’ needs through December, despite earlier assurances by the Federal Government that funds had been approved to procure essential medicines.
The development was brought to the fore at an ongoing training for journalists on drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) reporting, organised in Abuja by the COMBAT DR-TB Project of the Civil Society for the Eradication of Tuberculosis in Nigeria, TB Network.
Speaking at the training, health officers described the situation in several facilities as increasingly difficult, warning that the shortage was affecting both routine TB treatment and preventive services.
“We have a stock-out of TB medications nationwide. The drugs we have now cannot take us up to December,” one officer said.
Of particular concern is the unavailability of Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy (TPT), which is administered to people who have been exposed to TB patients and individuals living with HIV to reduce their risk of developing active tuberculosis.
“There is no single TPT anywhere in this country. All the TPT we have are expired,” another health officer disclosed.
The shortage has reportedly forced some healthcare workers to distribute limited supplies among more patients than the available medications can adequately serve, despite concerns that such practices could compromise treatment.
“You have 20 drugs, but you diagnosed 50. They are dividing the drugs for these 20 to these 50, thinking more drugs will come,” one officer explained.
“I have 50 patients but 20 kits. Why watch these 50 die?” the officer added.
NEPWHAN raises national emergency concerns
Independent findings by the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN) have also highlighted the scale of the shortages, with the organisation urging the Federal Government to declare the situation a national public health emergency.
At a press briefing in Abuja on June 12, 2026, the organisation presented findings from its first-quarter community-led monitoring exercise, which covered 2,135 health facilities across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to the findings, 64.2 per cent of the facilities surveyed reported shortages of at least one essential TB commodity, particularly Drug-Susceptible Tuberculosis Category 1 medications.
The report also found that 58.2 per cent of the facilities experienced shortages of GeneXpert cartridges and sputum collection materials, which are essential for diagnosing tuberculosis.
NEPWHAN warned that some patients diagnosed with the disease were being asked to return weeks later because the required medications were unavailable.
Such delays could have serious public health consequences, as patients who remain untreated may continue transmitting the infection to others in their homes, workplaces, schools, markets and correctional facilities.
The organisation further disclosed that, as of the June briefing, “there are no confirmed government funds for 2026 TB interventions, and the 54 million dollars counterpart funding commitment is yet to be released.”
$54m funding pledge yet to translate into drug supplies
The concerns have raised questions about the implementation of the Federal Government's earlier funding commitment to strengthen the country's tuberculosis and HIV response.
At the 2026 Pre-World TB Day briefing organised by Stop TB Partnership Nigeria in Abuja on March 17, 2026, the Director of Public Health at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Charles Nzelu, announced that $54 million had been approved for the procurement of TB and HIV medications.
Nzelu said the funding was part of the government's efforts to address potential supply disruptions and ensure that essential medicines remained available across healthcare facilities.
He explained that projections had indicated that some TB medications supported by the Global Fund could run out, prompting the ministry to initiate procurement arrangements using part of the $200 million sector-wide allocation announced the previous year.
The government also announced plans for the nationwide rollout of the Pluslife Mini Dock, a near-point-of-care diagnostic platform, alongside the deployment of more than 1,000 units of molecular diagnostic equipment.
However, seven months after the announcement, health workers attending the TB Network training say the promised procurement has yet to translate into adequate supplies at treatment centres.
They maintained that facilities remain without essential medicines, including preventive therapy, while available stocks are insufficient to meet the growing demand.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, had also pledged $52.3 million in counterpart funding for the 2023–2026 Global Fund Round 7 Cycle, part of which was earmarked for TB commodities.
TB Network had earlier warned that Nigeria could experience significant drug shortages by June 2026 if procurement processes were not accelerated. The organisation says the current situation reflects the risks highlighted in its earlier projections.
Funding gap threatens sustainability of TB response
TB Network National Coordinator, Olayide Akanni, attributed the recurring supply challenges partly to the country's heavy dependence on international donors for essential tuberculosis commodities.
According to him, donors that historically supported the procurement of TB medications are increasingly demanding greater ownership and financial commitment from the Nigerian government.
He explained that under the next three-year funding cycle, the Global Fund would provide support for only one year, leaving the government responsible for financing the remaining two years.
The financial pressure is further highlighted by Nigeria's inclusion among 10 countries identified by the Stop TB Partnership as having the most urgent funding needs, with an estimated requirement of $85.4 million for 2025/2026.
Nigeria currently faces an estimated 70 per cent funding gap in its tuberculosis response, while only six per cent of the national TB budget comes from domestic sources.
Although the Federal Government reportedly earmarked about N73.4 billion for TB drugs in the 2026 budget, advocates say the funds have yet to be released.
Akanni criticised the gap between government announcements and actual implementation, calling for urgent action to ensure that patients are not left without treatment.
“Nigerian government needs to wake up! It’s not enough to make promises outside the country,” he said.
“One year down the line, funds have not come, drugs have not been procured.”
In a formal letter dated October 10, 2026, with reference number TBN/ADM/101/001/0943, TB Network appealed to the Minister of Health to facilitate immediate procurement of essential TB commodities and introduce faster mechanisms to prevent future disruptions.
Why the shortages could worsen Nigeria's TB burden
The consequences of prolonged drug shortages extend beyond individual patients, with health experts warning that interruptions in treatment could undermine years of progress in controlling tuberculosis.
The Head of Training at the National Institute of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Dr Eunice Jiya Chitumu, identified three major dangers associated with the situation: prolonged illness and increased mortality, the development of drug-resistant tuberculosis and continued transmission within communities.
“First, it prolongs illness and increases risk of death. Nigeria recorded 71,000 TB-related deaths in 2023, according to WHO,” she said.
“Second, it forces treatment interruption, which breeds drug-resistant TB that is harder, longer and more expensive to treat. Third, it fuels community spread,” Chitumu explained.
Her warning comes against the backdrop of Nigeria's position as Africa's highest-burden country for tuberculosis and sixth globally among countries with a high burden of TB and TB/HIV.
The World Health Organisation's 2025 Global Tuberculosis Report estimates that Nigeria records approximately 510,000 new TB cases annually, including about 61,000 among children.
The country also recorded approximately 8,200 cases of multidrug-resistant or rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis in 2024. However, only 3,090 patients were initiated on treatment, highlighting existing gaps in access to care.
Although Nigeria has recorded significant improvements in case detection, the shortage of medicines threatens to undermine those gains.
TB notifications increased from 106,533 in 2018 to 405,324 in 2024 and 458,534 in 2025, reflecting improvements in identifying and reporting cases.
However, health advocates warn that identifying more patients without ensuring access to treatment could leave infectious individuals untreated and increase the risk of further transmission.
Free treatment, but medicines unavailable
Tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment remain officially free at government-approved Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course (DOTS) centres across Nigeria.
However, health workers say the availability of free services means little to patients who arrive at facilities only to discover that essential medications are out of stock.
The situation has also renewed calls for the government to strengthen domestic financing, accelerate procurement and establish sustainable supply systems that can prevent repeated disruptions.
With preventive therapy unavailable and treatment supplies dwindling, health professionals warn that delays in releasing funds could have serious consequences for patients and the wider population.
“The important thing is we don’t have drugs, and we risk an epidemic if funding is not released,” one speaker at the training warned.
For patients already diagnosed with tuberculosis, the immediate concern is access to uninterrupted treatment. For the country, the challenge is ensuring that funding commitments translate into medicines on hospital shelves before the shortage deepens further.