Source: Punch Newspaper
The Federal Government is on track to receive a new loan from the World Bank, with loans totaling $1.7 billion expected to be approved by September 26, 2024. This information is based on official documents obtained by The PUNCH.
The funds will be distributed across three key development projects aimed at improving Nigeria’s economic stability and strengthening resource mobilization. The first project, the Nigeria: Primary Healthcare Provision Strengthening Programme, is set to receive $500 million.
The second project, titled Nigeria Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity Governance, is slated to receive $500 million in funding. The largest portion of the funds, $700 million, will go toward the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project.
According to the document, these projects have advanced to the negotiation stage, with approval anticipated by September 26, 2024, pending the board’s final presentation. The negotiation phase represents the final part of the loan process, confirming that Nigeria, represented by its Minister of Finance, has successfully passed the appraisal stage in discussions with the World Bank.
If approved, this loan would bring Nigeria’s total loan receipts from the World Bank to $3.95 billion this year, and to $6.65 billion since President Bola Tinubu took office.
These loan projects focus on critical sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, and infrastructure, which are vital to Nigeria’s sustainable development and economic stability. The Nigeria Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity Governance project, receiving $500 million, aims to enhance human capital through improvements in education, healthcare, and social protection services.
According to the draft Environment and Social Systems Assessment prepared by the World Bank, this project is designed to improve both the quality and accessibility of essential healthcare services, while also strengthening the resilience of Nigeria’s health system.
The document states that the HOPE-Health project is intended to create a sector-wide approach, leveraging additional resources to support crucial initiatives. By coordinating donor financing with Nigeria’s own funds, the project aims to drive a unified focus on addressing the country’s disease burden. It goes on to say that the Programme Development Objective (PDO) is to improve the quality and accessibility of essential healthcare services, as well as health system resilience in Nigeria. Four PDO-level indicators focus on utilization and quality of healthcare services.
These indicators include the number of women and children receiving essential health services from community health workers, the number of primary healthcare facilities that meet service readiness criteria, the proportion of deliveries attended by skilled birth attendants, and the number of CEmONC (Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care) facilities certified at the EDGE level 1.
The implementing agencies for this project include the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and the Federal Ministry of Education.
Additionally, the World Bank has specified that the Nigeria: Primary Healthcare Provision Strengthening Program aims to bolster Nigeria’s primary healthcare system by upgrading healthcare infrastructure, training healthcare workers, and enhancing service delivery. This project will be executed by the Ministry of Health.
The third project, the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project, will focus on sustainable power generation and irrigation systems, which are crucial for the growth of agriculture and industry. This project will be overseen and executed by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation.
In addition, it was noted that two other loan requests have been made, including $500 million for the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project – Scale-Up, expected to be approved by December 16, 2024, and the Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project, scheduled for approval on April 8, 2025.
It is worth recalling that on June 13, the World Bank announced the approval of two loan projects aimed at supporting Nigeria’s economic stability and providing aid to its vulnerable populations.
According to a World Bank statement, the two approved loans, totaling $2.25 billion, consist of the $1.5 billion Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilization to Enable Transformation Development Policy Financing Program and the $750 million Nigeria Accelerating Resource Mobilization Reforms Program-for-Results.
Already, the World Bank has received $751.88 million from the $1.5 billion earmarked for the Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilization to Enable Transformation.
To date, under President Tinubu’s administration, Nigeria has secured $4.95 billion in loans from the World Bank, amid growing concerns over the country’s rising external debt servicing costs.
So far, six loan projects have been approved, covering areas such as power ($750 million), women’s empowerment ($500 million), girls’ education ($700 million), renewable energy ($750 million), economic stabilization reforms ($1.5 billion), and resource mobilization reforms ($750 million).
According to data from the Debt Management Office’s external debt stock report, as of March 31, 2024, Nigeria owes the World Bank a total of $15.59 billion.
In a related report on Tuesday, The PUNCH highlighted that 20 state governors had borrowed a total of N446.29 billion over a six-month period, illustrating the financial pressure faced by many states.
