United States President, Donald Trump, has signed an executive order to immediately pause the country’s foreign aid to ensure they are efficient and consistent with US foreign policy under the ‘America First agenda.’...Read Full Article >>➤
The aid is funded by or through the State Department and US Agency for International Development.
Announcing the directive on Sunday, January 26, 2025, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, in a statement on the US Department of State’s website, noted, “Every dollar we spend, every programme we fund and every policy we pursue, must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?”
According to the statement, the review and realignment of foreign assistance “on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not just the right thing to do, it is a moral imperative.”
The US aid helps to improve agriculture and food security, education, global health, economic trade and growth, research and innovation, humanitarian assistance, environment, among others, in countries that are in need.
A pause in this aid will have significant effects on Nigeria’s economy as the West African most populous nation, hitherto, remains a major beneficiary.
This may have significant impacts on the country’s large, teeming population of over 200 million people.
“With an estimated population of 214 million, of which approximately 96 million people live on less than $1.90 per day, Nigeria is home to the world’s largest population living in extreme poverty,” USAID stated.
In this piece, PUNCH Online highlights the cost implications of the US aid freeze on Nigeria’s economy (data provided by USAID are quoted therein).
1. HEALTH: According to USAID, Nigeria has a population growth rate of 3.2 per cent and will be home to more than 400 million people by 2050. It noted that while Nigeria’s population growth continues to rise, its health indicators remain among the lowest in Africa.
A summary of the Global Health 2024 factsheet as observed by PUNCH Online, revealed that since 2015, the US Government has invested over $3 billion in health programmes in Nigeria.
These investments have been helpful in Nigeria’s quest to reduce maternal and child mortality, promote reproductive health, expand childhood immunisation, respond to emerging pandemics/epidemics, and prevent and treat malaria, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis; and its response to the COVI-10 pandemic, Mpox and Lassa fever.
In May 2024, USAID, through the US President’s Malaria Initiative funding and programmes delivered 13.4m bed nets, six million fast-acting medicines, and 11.8m Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests to clinics and communities in Nigeria in 2023.
A pause in the US aid may further exacerbate Nigeria’s fragile healthcare system, thereby reducing available funds to treat diseases and infections on a large scale.
2. EDUCATION: Nigeria’s education system struggles to keep pace with its rapidly growing school-age population. Globally, Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of school-aged children and youths who do not have access to quality education, the USAID fact-check on the nation’s education system disclosed.
It stated that since 2014, the US Government has invested $179.1 million to support Nigerian children and youths, to improve their lives through quality basic education.If implemented, Trump’s order will result in declining quality teaching and learning, an increased number of out-of-school children, among others.
According to the Chief, UNICEF Field Office, Kano State, Mr Rahama Farah, there are currently about 10.2 million children at the primary level who are out of school in Nigeria.
3. FOOD SECURITY: Owing to the emergence of the dreaded Boko Haram terrorist group in Northern Nigeria, the need for enhancing food security continues to rise.
This crisis has dealt a heavy blow to Nigeria’s agricultural productivity, particularly food production. Many affected families residing in Internally Displaced Person camps continue to rely on humanitarian assistance to meet their daily food needs.
USAID’s Office of Food for Peace has assisted crisis-affected populations in northeastern Nigeria since 2015. The FFP, which was formed in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme, provides cash-based and in-kind food assistance, as well as nutrition and livelihood support, to vulnerable Nigerians.
According to available data, the FFP contributions from 2018 to 2020 amount to $438.2 million, with 91,458 metric tons supplied.
In September 2023, USAID facilitated $205m in debt and equity investments for Nigerian agribusinesses in the past five years, PUNCH Online reports.
Also, in a June 2024 report, through the US Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, Feed the Future Initiative, the Trade Hub has awarded $26.6m in co-investment grants to 33 companies. They have catalysed $171.2m in private-sector investments, created over 26,000 new jobs, and generated nearly $400m in domestic sales.
4. FLOOD RELIEF AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: In September 2024, the National Emergency Management Agency said no fewer than 611,201 persons were affected by floods in the country.
The agency also said 201 lives have been lost due to the flood with 2,119 injured and 83,457 houses damaged, PUNCH Online reports.
During this same period, the United States, through USAID, said it was providing more than $6.5m to the International Organisation for Migration to address flood-related humanitarian needs in Nigeria.
The report noted that the funding would enable local partners to respond to flooding and other disasters, saying the response is part of a larger humanitarian assistance effort.
In late August 2024, the United States Mission in Nigeria announced that the country would receive $27m as part of a broader $536m humanitarian aid package directed towards Sub-Saharan Africa by the US Government.
This assistance is part of ongoing efforts by the United States to provide life-saving support to vulnerable populations and host communities across the continent.
In summary, the total United States Government’s funding through USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, stood at $289,782,220m, according to available data.
5. ELECTRICITY: According to a report by PUNCH Online in July 2024, USAID and the Federal Ministry of Power signed a Memorandum of Understanding to secure Nigeria’s commitment to electricity sector reforms, market transparency, liquidity and expanding access to affordable power.
The MOU was signed by USAID/Nigeria Mission Director, Melissa Jones, and the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Mahmuda Mamman, to support the implementation of a N115.2bn US government grant-funded technical assistance programme intended to support power sector development and reforms in Nigeria.
Power generation and transmission in Nigeria has remained a challenge to the country’s overall economic growth and development, including rural development, health and education sector performance, among others.
More than 85 million Nigerians have no access to grid power, and many have suffered from unreliable power supply. Given these challenges, many Nigerian families and businesses depend on expensive, emission-intensive petrol and diesel backup generators.
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