Nigerian Senate increases country's health budget to address US aid freeze

The Nigerian Senate has allocated additional N300 billion to the health sector in the 2025 approved budget to bridge the gap created by the United States government’s freeze on foreign aid.

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The decision was made on Thursday, shortly before the Senate passed the budget, which was increased from N54.2 trillion to N54.9 trillion.

The Senate said the funds would support health interventions and address challenges previously financed by US government foreign aid before its suspension.

The additional allocation, equivalent to $200 million, will target health programmes such as Tuberculosis, HIV, Malaria and Polio.

Following his inauguration on 20 January, US President Donald Trump signed multiple executive orders affecting global health funding and significantly impacting developing countries like Nigeria that rely on US assistance for health financing.

Mr Trump signed an order to halt the disbursement of foreign aid to any country for three months. The implementation of this order halted the US global health efforts, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), in low and middle-income countries around the world.

Although PEPFAR was issued a limited waiver a week later, allowing it to restart some services, the situation has remained fluid. PEPFAR is a major programme through which HIV interventions in Nigeria are funded.

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The situation was also worsened by the US government’s effort to dissolve the United States International Development Agency (USAID). As an independent agency, USAID implements most US health programmes in Nigeria and other developing countries.

Due to the freeze on foreign aid, all USAID interventions in Nigeria have been suspended.

Improving domestic funding

Mr Trump also pulled the US out of the World Health Organisation (WHO), another major funder of Nigeria’s health intervention.

This forced the UN agency to cut costs and review some of its health programmes, a move that is likely to affect Nigeria.

While President Trump’s decision has created global confusion and been heavily criticised by world leaders, health experts worry that Nigeria’s health sector could face significant challenges without US foreign aid.

However, the Nigerian government has begun trying to fill the gaps created by the sudden suspension of all foreign assistance.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the government had pledged to strengthen the health sector and intensify domestic funding to ensure ownership and sustainability of the country’s HIV/AIDS response.

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) said the US executive orders had made the re-evaluation of the country’s dependence on foreign aid a necessary move.

This paper also reported that the government had announced it would begin producing tools such as test kits and antiretroviral drugs locally.

READ ALSO: INTERVIEW: What Nigeria is doing to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV – NACA DG

In the proposed 2025 budget, the government allocated ₦2.48 trillion to the health sector. The sum represents 5.18 per cent of the budget, falling short of the 15 per cent target set by the Abuja declaration.

This allocation includes ₦402 billion for health infrastructure and ₦282.65 billion for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.

However, it is currently unknown whether this allocation has changed in the budget approved by the Senate.