Abuja, Nigeria – 22 June 2026

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), in collaboration with the Global Fund and key implementing partners, will convene a national close-out meeting on 23 June 2026 to reflect on the achievements, lessons learned, and lasting impact of the COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM) investments in Nigeria.

The meeting will take place in Abuja, Nigeria, and will bring together representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health, state governments, development partners, civil society organisations, implementing partners, healthcare workers, and other stakeholders who played critical roles in implementing the C19RM grant between 2021 and 2025.

The Global Fund’s COVID-19 Response Mechanism was established to support countries in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic while strengthening health systems and safeguarding progress against HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria. In Nigeria, the investment supported a wide range of interventions to strengthen public health preparedness and response capacities, including improvements in disease surveillance, laboratory systems, infection prevention and control, oxygen infrastructure, cold-chain systems, healthcare workforce capacity, and emergency response mechanisms.

“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,” Temitope Ilori, Director-General, NACA

The close-out meeting will provide an opportunity to showcase key achievements recorded under the grant, examine lessons from implementation, highlight innovations and best practices, and discuss strategies for sustaining the gains made through the investment.

The event will also feature presentations from implementing agencies and partners, stakeholder reflections, panel discussions, and the premiere of documentary and storytelling products developed to capture the human impact and legacy of the C19RM investment across Nigeria.

“The C19RM grant demonstrated the power of effective partnership, positioning, coordination, engagement, oversight and country ownership in responding to a public health emergency. Beyond supporting Nigeria’s COVID-19 response, the investments have strengthened critical health systems and facilitated pandemic preparedness and response capacities that will continue to benefit the country for years to come. As we close this chapter, our focus must remain on sustaining these gains and leveraging the lessons learned to build a more resilient health system for all Nigerians,” Tajudeen Ibrahim, Executive Secretary, Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) Nigeria.

Speaking ahead of the event, stakeholders noted that the close-out meeting is not only an opportunity to celebrate achievements but also to strengthen the collective commitment to building resilient health systems that can respond effectively to future public health emergencies.

As Nigeria continues to strengthen its health security architecture, the lessons and investments from the COVID-19 Response Mechanism remain an important foundation for future preparedness, disease control, and health system resilience.

The close-out meeting is expected to attract senior government officials, development partners, public health experts, implementing organisations, and representatives from communities that benefited from the intervention.

Attendance Information

Attendance at the C19RM Close-Out Meeting is by invitation only and will include representatives from government institutions, development partners, implementing organisations, civil society, academia, and other key stakeholders involved in implementing the C19RM grant.

Members of the public and interested stakeholders who are not attending in person are encouraged to participate virtually through the event livestream.

Livestream Details: https://bit.ly/c19rm 

About the COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM)

The COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM) is a special funding mechanism established by the Global Fund to support countries in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigating its impact on HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria programmes, and strengthening health and community systems for future emergencies.

Media Contact

National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA)
Name: Thelma Thomas-Abeku

Email Address: tthomas@naca.gov.ng