The Federal Government and the National Assembly are targeting N70 billion over five years to end noma disease and improve access to oral healthcare in Nigeria.

The commitment was announced as the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare unveiled the five year National Oral Health Strategic Plan 2026 to 2030.

The plan is aimed at preventing noma, expanding treatment services and bringing oral healthcare closer to communities across the country.

Speaking at the 2026 Oral Health Week, National Noma Day and Scientific Conference in Abuja on Monday, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, called on state governments and development partners to mobilise N70bn over the next five years to eliminate noma and improve access to oral healthcare.

He said the framework represented a shift from a predominantly curative approach to preventive oral healthcare. The conference was themed, Integrating Noma into Primary Healthcare: From Comprehensive Management to Prevention.

The strategic plan was developed in consultation with the Nigerian Dental Association and other stakeholders to strengthen health promotion, early detection and access to quality oral healthcare. It seeks to integrate oral healthcare into primary healthcare delivery, strengthen early diagnosis and treatment, and improve access to dental services, particularly for children and other vulnerable populations. Salako said the government was leveraging the Basic Health Care Provision Fund and other sector wide initiatives to improve dental infrastructure, deploy more personnel and strengthen school based oral health programmes.

Noma is a rapidly progressive and potentially fatal disease that destroys facial tissues. It often begins as a simple gum infection but can cause devastating complications within days if not detected and treated promptly. It predominantly affects malnourished children in underserved communities, and Nigeria lies within the noma belt of sub-Saharan Africa, with some of the highest recorded cases globally, particularly in the North West. Salako described noma as a preventable and treatable disease that should no longer claim the lives of Nigerian children.

The initiative also received the backing of the National Assembly, which pledged legislative and financial support for its implementation, including stronger primary healthcare services, routine oral health screening and improved surveillance of noma.

The Senate Committee on Health, chaired by Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo, said the National Assembly was committed to strengthening primary healthcare delivery and ensuring that oral health became an integral part of routine healthcare services. It disclosed that funding for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund had been increased from one to two per cent to strengthen frontline health services and community level interventions.

The committee identified the Noma Children Hospital in Sokoto, the Intercountry Centre in Jos and the ongoing retrofitting of dental centres in federal university teaching hospitals as critical components of the national response. It also noted the partnership with Medecins Sans Frontieres, which had facilitated more than 1,759 major reconstructive surgeries for 1,174 patients through 35 surgical missions.

These facilities and partnerships are expected to play a central role in treatment, rehabilitation and training under the new plan.

Stakeholders say the success of the plan will depend on sustained funding, political will and community participation. Beyond treatment, the government says tackling noma requires investment in nutrition, water and sanitation, housing, immunisation, and maternal and child health. If the N70bn target is met and the plan is fully implemented, Nigeria could move closer to ending a disease that has for too long been linked to poverty, neglect and preventable suffering among its most vulnerable children.