By Thomas “Tommy” Pigott
Today, the United States Department of State signed a five-year bilateral health Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Federal Republic of Nigeria to strengthen Nigeria’s health system, with a strong emphasis on promoting Christian faith-based health care providers.
Under this MOU, the Department of State, working with Congress, intends to commit nearly $2.1 billion to expand essential preventative and curative services for HIV, TB, malaria, maternal and child health and polio.
Additionally, Nigeria will increase its domestic health expenditures by nearly $3 billion during the term of the MOU, the largest co-investment any country has made to date under the America First Global Health Strategy.
The MOU was negotiated in connection with reforms the Nigerian government has made to prioritize protecting Christian populations from violence and includes significant dedicated funding to support Christian health care facilities with a focus on expanding access to integrated HIV, TB, malaria, and maternal and child health services.
Nigeria’s 900 faith-based clinics and hospitals currently serve more than 30 percent of Nigerians, and investments in these facilities are uniquely positioned to complement efforts in public run facilities and strengthen Nigeria’s overall health infrastructure.
As with all foreign assistance, the President and Secretary of State retain the right to pause or terminate any programs which do not align with the national interest, and the Trump Administration expects Nigeria to continue to make progress ensuring that it combats extremist religious violence against vulnerable Christian populations.
The United States remains committed to signing multi-year Bilateral MOUs on Global Health Cooperation in the coming weeks with dozens of countries receiving U.S. health assistance, advancing the America First Global Health Strategy.
Thomas “Tommy” Pigott is the Principal Deputy Spokesperson, U.S. State Department
