Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced that it is providing additional $243 million to support Nigeria in reaching its development goals.
The US government said that the assistance was a continuation of its commitment to support the development goals outlined in the Development Objective Assistance Agreement signed with the Government of Nigeria in 2015.
A statement Wednesday by the US embassy also revealed that the new funding would support activities to build a healthier population with $165 million, including assisting with malaria control, supporting maternal and child health, family planning, eradication of tuberculosis and nutrition initiatives.
It stated: “Another $25 million will focus on strengthening basic literacy and education in the north, while $22 million will help drive inclusive and sustainable agriculture-led economic growth.
“In addition, USAID’s programmes will focus on broad-based economic growth, resilience and the development of safely-managed water supply and sanitation services in urban areas.
“Finally, $21 million in funding will be dedicated to activities aimed at strengthening political competition and consensus-building, promoting good governance and for efforts to strengthen civil society organisations.”
The US government noted that this contribution underscores the continued importance of the relationship between Nigeria and the United States.
The statement quoted the USAID Mission Director, Stephen Haykin, as saying: “Our strong partnership with Nigeria, its institutions and its people will help their efforts to improve health, education, agriculture and governance systems where they are needed most throughout the country.”
It stressed that the additional funding brings the total US government assistance provided to the Nigerian people under this five-year agreement to $1.422 billion.
The statement stressed that USAID collaborated with the Nigerian Ministry of Budget and National Planning, the Nigerian Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Power, and Education, and state-level government counterparts, among others, to structure the estimated $2.45 billion agreement which runs through the end of 2020.
