The Federal Government has entered into a five-year bilateral health cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) valued at $5.1 billion with the United States to strengthen collaboration under the America First Global Health Strategy.
The agreement is designed to build resilient, self-sustaining, and long-lasting health systems, while encouraging accountability and shared responsibility between both countries.
According to the US Mission Nigeria, the MOU was negotiated alongside reforms introduced by Nigeria “to prioritise the protection of Christian populations from extremist violence”.
“Under the five-year MOU, the United States intends to commit nearly $2.1 billion in health assistance, with nearly $3.0 billion in new domestic health expenditures by the Government of Nigeria over the same five-year period.
“This represents the largest co-investment any country has made to date under the America First Global Health Strategy and underscores Nigeria’s commitment to greater national ownership of its health system,” the US Mission Nigeria stated on its website on Sunday.
The Mission further explained that the agreement will see continued US support for disease surveillance and outbreak response, laboratory infrastructure, health commodities, frontline healthcare workers, and health data systems.
It noted that Nigeria continues to grapple with major health challenges, including some of the world’s highest maternal and child mortality rates and about 30 per cent of the global malaria burden.
“US assistance under the MOU will expand access to affordable, preventive, and curative services for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, polio, and maternal and child health, strengthening health outcomes across Nigeria.
“The MOU places a strong emphasis on Christian faith-based healthcare providers, recognising their indispensable role in delivering care to communities in need. Nigeria’s more than 900 faith-based clinics and hospitals serve more than 30 per cent of the country’s 230 million people, often in areas where healthcare facilities are limited or absent,” it added.
The agreement also allocates about $200 million in targeted funding to support Christian health facilities, boost workforce capacity, and widen access to integrated HIV, TB, malaria, and maternal and child health services.
“Investments in Christian faith-based health institutions are uniquely positioned to complement public-sector facilities and reinforce Nigeria’s overall health infrastructure.
” As with all U.S. foreign assistance, the President and Secretary of State retain the right to pause or terminate programs that do not align with US national interests, and the United States expects Nigeria to continue making measurable progress in combating religiously motivated violence against Christian communities.
The statement concluded that the agreement is part of a series of health cooperation MOUs recently signed across Africa, noting that the United States will continue to enter into multi-year Bilateral Agreements on Global Health Cooperation with beneficiary countries to advance the America First Global Health Strategy.