By Abiola Olawale
Nigeria has been able to secure a total of $1.57 billion support fund from the World Bank.
This was announced in a statement issued by the World Bank on Monday.
According to the financial institution, Nigeria secured the funding to address governance challenges in education and healthcare, improve primary healthcare services, and increase resilience to climate change through enhanced dam safety and irrigation infrastructure.
The approval, made on September 26, 2024, includes a $1.5 billion loan and a $70 million grant.
A breakdown of the funding show that the $1.57 billion will be divided across three major projects.
The first, the HOPE-GOV program, will receive $500 million to improve governance in the education and health sectors. This program is designed to address underlying issues in financial and human resource management that have hindered service delivery.
Another $570 million is earmarked for the Primary Healthcare Provision Strengthening Program (HOPE-PHC). This initiative is pivotal in improving Nigeria’s healthcare system, particularly for women, children, and adolescents. The program focuses on reducing maternal and under-five mortality rates and enhancing the resilience of Nigeria’s health infrastructure.
Going by HOPE-PHC, the project is expected to provide quality reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health services.
The remaining $500 million will be allocated to the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project (SPIN), which aims to protect Nigeria from climate-induced challenges such as floods and droughts.
Through enhanced dam safety measures, improved water resource management, and the expansion of irrigation services, the SPIN program will benefit around 950,000 people, including farmers and livestock breeders.
Speaking on the funding, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Dr Ndiamé Diop, emphasized that investing in the health and education of Nigerians is crucial for improving future employment opportunities, productivity, and reducing poverty.
He added that the new financing will address the significant challenges faced by Nigerians, particularly women and girls, in accessing quality healthcare and services.
Diop said: “Effective investment in the health and education of Nigerians today is central to increasing their future employment opportunities, productivity, and earnings while reducing poverty of the most vulnerable. This new financing for human capital and primary healthcare will help to address the complex difficulties faced by Nigerians, especially women and girls, around access and quality of services, but also the governance arrangements that explain these difficulties.
“The SPIN program is timely and will protect Nigerians from floods and droughts in the areas where it will be implemented while enabling an increase in hydropower generation. The direct positive impact of this project on people and livelihoods is enormous, The World Bank is pleased to work with the government and other stakeholders to deliver this program.”
The New Diplomat reports that this becomes the latest financing secured by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
So far, Nigeria has secured a total of $6.52 billion in new financing from the World Bank under the administration of Tinubu.
Earlier this year, the World Bank recently announced the approval of two loan projects aimed at bolstering Nigeria’s economic stability and supporting its vulnerable populations.
