Nigeria could lose access to a fresh $1.4 billion United States health and humanitarian assistance package if the Federal Government fails to demonstrate measurable progress in protecting Christians from violence.
The condition is contained in a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding signed by Nigeria and the US under the America First Global Health Strategy.
Under the five-year agreement, Washington committed nearly $2.1 billion to support HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, and polio programmes in Nigeria.
Nigeria is also expected to increase domestic health spending by nearly $3 billion during the period, while significant US funding is earmarked for about 900 faith-based clinics and hospitals serving millions of Nigerians.
The agreement states that US assistance could be paused or terminated if Nigeria fails to make progress in combating extremist religious violence against vulnerable Christian populations.
The US House of Representatives has also moved to link assistance to Nigeria with concrete measures to protect persecuted Christians and facilitate the return of internally displaced persons to their ancestral communities.
Meanwhile, Washington recently announced $1.4 billion in health assistance for faith- and community-based hospitals and clinics across more than 20 countries.
Of the amount, $850 million will support more than 2,500 faith-based health facilities across 17 countries, while another $570 million will be channelled directly to faith-based and community hospitals through bilateral agreements with governments, including Nigeria.
The US State Department also announced $538 million in humanitarian assistance to reach about seven million people affected by crises across 16 countries.
For Nigeria, continued access to the funding will depend largely on the government’s response to concerns in Washington over violence against Christian communities.
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