The World Bank has approved three new loan requests for Nigeria, totaling $1.57 billion, aimed at improving human capital and building resilience to climate change impacts such as floods and droughts. According to a statement released by the bank on Monday, these funds will support the Federal Government’s efforts to enhance health outcomes for women, children, and adolescents, and improve the country’s infrastructure to better manage water resources.
The loans include $570 million for the Primary Healthcare Provision Strengthening Programme, $500 million for addressing governance issues that hinder education and health delivery, and another $500 million for the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria (SPIN) Project.
“The World Bank has today approved three operations for a total of $1.57 billion to support the Government of Nigeria in strengthening human capital through better health for women, children, and adolescents and building resilience to the effects of climate change such as floods and droughts through improving dam safety and irrigation,” the statement read.
The HOPE-GOV and HOPE-PHC programmes will focus on governance and service delivery in the education and healthcare sectors, both of which are critical for improving Nigeria’s human capital outcomes. Specifically, the HOPE-GOV initiative will address governance weaknesses in Nigeria’s systems and procedures for managing human development sectors.
The SPIN project will play a crucial role in boosting Nigeria’s resilience to climate change by improving dam safety and water resource management, with a focus on hydropower and irrigation projects across the country.
The World Bank’s approval of the funds on September 26, 2024, demonstrates its continued commitment to helping Nigeria address its human capital and climate-related challenges. This comes at a time when the nation is grappling with increasing climate threats and growing demands for better health and education services.
“The SPIN project will support the improvement of dams’ safety and the management of water resources for hydropower and irrigation in selected areas of Nigeria,” the World Bank stated, emphasizing the importance of sustainable infrastructure in combating climate change impacts.
This latest financial package underscores the global lender’s belief that addressing Nigeria’s governance issues, strengthening healthcare delivery, and preparing for climate-related disasters are critical to the country’s future development and growth.
