Nigeria and the United States have entered into a five-year bilateral health cooperation agreement valued at $5.1 billion, aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s health system and improving access to essential healthcare services across the country.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed by the Federal Government and the U.S. authorities, is designed to support resilient, self-sustaining and accountable health systems in line with the America First Global Health Strategy.
The agreement outlined shared responsibilities and long-term collaboration between both countries in addressing Nigeria’s major health challenges.
Under the terms of the MoU, the United States planned to provide nearly $2.1 billion in health assistance over the five-year period, while the Nigerian government is expected to commit about $3.0 billion in domestic health funding.
According to the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, the agreement represents the largest co-investment recorded so far under the current U.S. global health framework and reflects Nigeria’s growing commitment to taking ownership of its healthcare system.
The partnership would focus on disease surveillance, outbreak preparedness and response, laboratory capacity, supply of essential health commodities, data management systems and support for frontline health workers.
It would also expand access to prevention and treatment services for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, polio, as well as maternal and child healthcare.
Officials noted that Nigeria continued to face significant public health challenges, including high maternal and child mortality rates and a substantial share of the global malaria burden.
The agreement is expected to improve health outcomes by widening access to affordable and quality healthcare services nationwide.
A key component of the MoU is targeted support for faith-based healthcare providers, particularly Christian health institutions, which play a major role in service delivery, especially in underserved and hard-to-reach communities.
More than 900 faith-based clinics and hospitals reportedly provide healthcare services to over 30 per cent of Nigeria’s population.
About $200 million has been earmarked to strengthen these facilities, improve workforce capacity and expand integrated health services.
The U.S. Mission stated that continued cooperation under the agreement would be subject to accountability measures, adding that the United States reserves the right to review or suspend programmes that do not align with its national interests.
The Nigeria-U.S. health pact is part of a broader wave of multi-year health cooperation agreements being signed across Africa, as Washington deepens engagement with partner countries receiving US health assistance.
