The United States’ recent cuts to global aid, while challenging, opens an opportunity to propel Nigeria towards achieving a resilient, self-sufficient healthcare system, but largely depends on how government chooses to respond, analysts have said.
The analysts have noted that Nigeria’s challenges are less about a lack of resources and more about decades of mismanagement and misappropriation, while the heavy reliance on external aid has left the country vulnerable to external policy shifts.
The United States under the leadership of President Donald Trump is reevaluating its foreign policy, including a significant reduction in financial aid to developing countries, including Nigeria, particularly in the areas of public health and disease control. Nigeria has been heavily reliant on donor support even up to fixing a faulty elevator at the ministry of health under the leadership of Osagie Ehanire, former health minister.
The country has benefited from substantial US health assistance, particularly through initiatives like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
While the cuts could strain critical programmes in the short term, analysts say they could also serve as a catalyst for greater domestic investment and innovation in the sector.
Oyewale Tomori, renowned virologist and a former World Health Organisation advisor described the funding cuts as a much-needed wake-up call for Nigeria to reorder its priorities and abandon its dependency on foreign aid.
He noted out that global funding will continue shrink in the future, and Nigerian government must start taking lessons from current situation.
“Let this teach us a lesson. We are not resource-limited; we are resource-wasting and resource-squandering. That’s why we beg everywhere we go. We need to reorder our priorities. The alarm has been ringing—enough is enough. If our leaders spend money properly, we can confidently tell them to keep their aid,” Tomori said.
Highlighting misplaced priorities, he said Nigeria does not have vehicles for a critical task as disease surveillance but the president and lawmakers parade in fleet of luxury cars. “Disease surveillance departments in Nigeria do not have even bicycle yet the President will go with 20 cars from toilet to bedroom,” he said.
He, however commended the move by the federal government to close funding shortfall particularly the N4.8 billion allocation for HIV treatment in an effort to strengthen domestic funding for HIV treatment following US aid freeze, and the $1.07 billion in financing for healthcare sector reforms.
Tomori noted that these moves demonstrate Nigeria’s capacity to fund its healthcare system domestically but argued that such funding might not have been prioritised without the US policy shifts. and would probably be misappropriated.
Tomiri stressed that if government had been more deliberate about investing domestically, the consequences of US decision wouldn’t have as much impact, but also cautioned against missing this opportunity as funding freeze could worsen in the future.
“We will suffer initially, but the returns will be sustainable in another one or two years. If we were prepared, we wouldn’t suffer. We should stop addressing our problem. We should undress our problems, i.e open and expose it. Time has come for us to undress our problems.
Tomori further said donor aid benefits the donating countries more than the beneficial countries after all. He said, “The so-called aid is not really aid, for instance if they want to buy machineries to give the contract their own industries. Why are we so stupid. I hope this ends this time.”
Olayinka Oladimeji, former director, primary healthcare systems development at the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, described the cut as a welcome development. According to him, its nothing to cry about, and urged other countries to withdraw their funding.
Oladimeji stressed that heavy reliance on donor funding has stifled the development of local manufacturing. He l also said Nigeria has not properly managed funds.
“Nigeria has the money to meet up the obligation. More than 80% of capital budgets are stolen. Every Country should withdraw their aids, it’s nothing to cry about, it is a welcome development. A few lives will be lost, but we are Africans, we are resilient, will find out feet, and we will develop” he said.
Zainab Shariff, former director, Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicine (TCAM), also saw the U.S aid cut as an opportunity for Nigeria, but expressed worry that government may not exercise the needed political will.
She expressed her regrets that during her tenure as TCAM director, government never showed readiness to develop locally. “We need to wake up. I wish donors will take everything”, she said.
Adaobi Onyechi, a public health expert said government could leverage public-private partnerships to ramp up domestic financing and enhance accountability in health spending.
She further recommended that the government focus on attracting greater investment in local manufacturing within the health sector, noting that such efforts would strengthen the country’s self-reliance and reduce dependence.
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