World Bank Supports Nigeria with $1.57bn for Health, Climate Resilience Initiatives

The World Bank has approved three operations totaling $1.57 billion to assist the Federal Government in enhancing human capital through improved health for women, children, and adolescents, while also building resilience against climate change impacts, such as floods and droughts, by improving dam safety and irrigation systems.

The new funding includes $500 million to address governance challenges affecting the delivery of education and health services (HOPE-GOV), $570 million for the Primary Healthcare Provision Strengthening Program (HOPE-PHC), and $500 million for the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project (SPIN).

Together, the HOPE-GOV and HOPE-PHC programs will help the Federal Government enhance service delivery in the basic education and primary healthcare sectors, which are essential for improving Nigeria’s human capital outcomes.

The SPIN project aims to bolster dam safety and optimize water resource management for hydropower and irrigation in designated regions of Nigeria.

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The HOPE-GOV Program will tackle governance weaknesses within the systems and procedures of government, focusing on critical challenges related to financial and human resource management in the basic education and primary healthcare sectors.

This program seeks to improve the availability and effectiveness of financing for service delivery in these sectors, enhance transparency and accountability, and improve the recruitment, deployment, and performance management of teachers and healthcare workers at the federal, state, and local levels.

In support of the Federal Government’s recent health sector reforms, the World Bank noted that the HOPE-PHC project will enhance the quality and utilization of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health and nutrition services, aiming to significantly reduce maternal and under-five mortality rates and strengthen the health system’s resilience—benefiting approximately 40 million individuals, especially vulnerable populations.

This project is backed by a concessional $500 million International Development Association (IDA) credit, along with an additional $70 million in grant financing from the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents (GFF). The GFF support includes $11 million from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and $12.5 million from the Children’s Investment Foundation Fund (CIFF), aimed at closing the financing gap for primary and community healthcare and maternal newborn care, while promoting sustainable financing for family planning commodities.

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The SPIN program will protect citizens from the adverse effects of floods and droughts through enhanced dam safety and operations. It will also provide new and improved irrigation and drainage services across 40,000 hectares, benefiting up to 950,000 individuals, including households, farmers, and livestock breeders, by ensuring more reliable, climate-resilient irrigation and increased agricultural productivity through improved water management.

Through the SPIN project, the government will develop a master plan for hydropower and establish structured public-private partnership transactions for a hydropower initiative.

“Investing effectively in the health and education of Nigerians today is crucial for enhancing their future employment prospects, productivity, and earnings, while also reducing poverty among the most vulnerable. This new funding for human capital and primary healthcare will help address the complex challenges faced by Nigerians, particularly women and girls, regarding access to quality services and the governance structures contributing to these difficulties,” stated Dr. Ndiamé Diop, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria.

“The SPIN program is timely and will protect Nigerians from floods and droughts in its implementation areas while increasing hydropower generation. The positive impact of this project on people’s livelihoods is substantial, and the World Bank is committed to collaborating with the government and other stakeholders to deliver this initiative,” Diop added.

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