“Look in the global strategies for HIV, [tuberculosis (TB)], malaria, maternal and child health, polio eradication, [neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)], and [non-communicable disease (NCDs)] — among many others — and you’ll see Nigeria at or near the top of the ‘Must Win’ countries,” Todd Summers, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic & International Studies’ (CSIS) Global Health Policy Center, writes in the CSIS “Smart Global Health” blog. “Home to 170 million people, many of them desperately poor, Nigeria carries a huge and disproportionate share of burden for many of the world’s most deadly diseases,” he writes, noting the country, “one of the most important countries for all three diseases, is losing more in revenues than all of the Global Fund’s annual contributions combined.” He continues, “So, somehow, the Nigerian government needs to do a better job of capturing the revenues it’s due, and channeling a greater percentage of that revenue to the urgent health needs of its citizens, but that doesn’t seem to be happening.” However, Summers concludes “there’s some good news to report” on overall governance in the country, and he provides some examples (11/8).