THE United States and Nigeria have signed a five-year, $5.1 billion memorandum of understanding (MoU) on health cooperation aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare delivery system, with targeted support for hundreds of faith-based, mainly Christian-managed, health facilities across the country.
Under the agreement, the United States will provide $2.1 billion in health assistance, while Nigeria extends $3 billion in new domestic health spending over the same period. The combined $5.1 billion commitment represents the largest co-investment made by any partner country under the ‘America First Global Health Strategy’ to date, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy.
The MoU is designed to strengthen Nigeria’s health system, expand access to essential services and reduce preventable deaths, while also advancing US foreign policy objectives by addressing global health threats with cross-border implications.
A key component of the agreement is about $200 million in dedicated U.S. support for more than 900 Christian faith-based healthcare facilities nationwide. The funding will be used to expand integrated services for HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and maternal and child health, particularly in rural and underserved communities where public healthcare provision remains limited.
Christian faith-based clinics account for about 10 percent of healthcare providers in Nigeria but serve more than 30 percent of the country’s estimated 230 million people, according to the US. Many of these facilities operate in hard-to-reach areas where government hospitals are scarce, playing a critical role in primary care, antenatal services and infectious disease treatment.
READ ALSO: U.K. grants emergency visa extensions to Nigerians as U.S. halts green card applications
“With Nigeria facing one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates globally and accounting for about 30 percent of the global malaria burden, this U.S. assistance protects Nigerian and American lives while strengthening our bilateral partnership,” the statement said.
The US Embassy added that the targeted support recognises the outsized role of faith-based providers in Nigeria’s health system and their capacity to deliver care at the community level. The funding is expected to improve service integration, expand treatment coverage and strengthen referral networks, particularly for women and children.
US authorities said the partnership would help make America “safer, stronger and more prosperous” by reducing the spread of infectious diseases and strengthening health security in Africa’s most populous country.
Trump vs Nigeria
U.S. President Donald Trump has taken an unusual interest in Nigeria in recent times. Trump alleged, in early November, that there was Christian genocide in Nigeria, with the government complicit in it. Mr Trump later took two decisive decisions against Nigeria. He first redesignated Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern’ and followed it up with a threat to cut off aid and invade the nation to “wipe out Islamic terrorists.”
He appointed House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) and Rep. Riley Moore (R-West Virginia) to lead the investigation. He sent the delegation to visit Nigeria for an investigation into the alleged Christian genocide, with Mr Moore and Mr Cole among them. The delegation visited various parts in Nigeria, including Benue State.
While waiting for the outcome of the visit, Mr Trump added Nigeria to the list of nations on partial entry restrictions to the United States.
A new Proclamation released by the White House on Tuesday said that President Trump added Nigeria and 14 other nations to the list of countries partially restricted from entering the U.S., which also included Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
On the reason for including Nigeria to the list, the Proclamation said, “Radical Islamic terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State operate freely in certain parts of Nigeria, which creates substantial screening and vetting difficulties. According to the Overstay Report, Nigeria had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 5.56 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 11.90 percent.”
