The World Bank has approved loans totaling $1.57 billion to strengthen Nigeria’s human capital through improved health for women, children, and adolescents.
Part of the support will also help mitigate the effects of climate change (floods and droughts) in Nigeria through improved dam safety and irrigation.
The new funding includes $500 million for Addressing Governance Issues Constraining Education and Health Delivery (HOPE-GOV) and $570 million to strengthen primary health care delivery, according to a statement obtained by Business Day. It includes dollars.
program (HOPE-PHC) and the Sustainable Power and Irrigation Project in Nigeria (SPIN).
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The combined HOPE-GOV and HOPE-PHC programs will help the Nigerian government improve service delivery in basic education and primary health care areas, which are critical to improving human capital outcomes, the World Bank said. Ta.
“The SPIN project will help improve dam safety and manage water resources for hydropower generation and irrigation in some parts of Nigeria,” the report said.
The global financial institution said the HOPE-GOV program will help Nigeria address fundamental governance weaknesses in government systems and procedures in two key human development areas. It will focus on key cross-cutting issues and enablers related to both financial and human resources management in the basic education and primary healthcare sectors.
The World Bank believes that the program will increase the availability and effectiveness of financing for the delivery of basic education and primary health care services, strengthen the transparency and accountability of financing, and strengthen federal, state, and government funding for basic education teachers and primary health services. He explained that the recruitment, deployment and performance management of healthcare workers will be improved. and local governments.
“To support the government’s newly launched health sector reforms and under the Health Sector Innovation Investment Initiative, the HOPE-PHC project will improve the quality of core reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health and nutrition services. “It will improve access, significantly reduce maternal and under-five mortality rates, and improve the resilience of health systems, benefiting 40 million people, especially the most vulnerable,” the World Bank further said. Ta.
“This project is funded by a $500 million International Development Association (IDA) concessional loan and an additional $70 million grant from the Global Financial Facility for Women, Children and Youth (GFF). GFF support includes $11 million from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCDO) and $12.5 million from the Children’s Investment Foundation Fund (CIFF) through co-financing with GFF. It helps fill funding gaps for community health and maternal newborns. It supports hospital-level care while also supporting government efforts to ensure sustainable funding for family planning products.”
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Meanwhile, the SPIN program will help Nigeria protect its people from floods and droughts by strengthening the safety and operation of its dams. The project will further support the delivery of new and improved irrigation and drainage services over an area of 40,000 hectares. This will directly benefit up to 950,000 people, including households, farmers and livestock keepers, from improved agricultural productivity through more reliable, climate-resilient and efficient irrigation, water supply and improved irrigation water management. you can benefit from it.
Through the SPIN project, the government will develop a hydropower master plan and structured public-private partnership deals for hydropower projects.
“Effective investment in the health and education of Nigerians today is central to increasing future employment opportunities, productivity and incomes while reducing poverty among the most vulnerable. This new financing for capital and primary health care will not only help address the complex challenges faced by Nigerians, especially women and girls, in terms of access and quality of services, but also improve governance to account for these challenges. It will also help with negotiations,” said Ndiame Diop, World Bank Country Director. Nigeria.
“The SPIN program is timely and will protect Nigerians from floods and droughts in implementation areas, while enabling increased hydropower generation.The direct positive impact this project will have on people and livelihoods will be significant. The World Bank is pleased to work with governments and other stakeholders to make this program a reality.”
