Nigeria Seeks Over $500m in New World Bank Loans for Education and Nutrition

The Nigerian government is in discussions with the World Bank to secure new loans exceeding $500 million to enhance education and nutrition initiatives.

Details from the World Bank indicate that under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, Nigeria’s public debt has risen above N142 trillion.

The government anticipates securing $580 million in loans, with final approvals expected in March 2025. The funds will be allocated to projects aimed at improving nutrition and education across the country.

Two Key Projects Identified
The loan approvals, scheduled for March 20 and March 27, 2025, will support two major initiatives:

• Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0
• HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All

Insights on the New Loans
According to the World Bank’s website, the HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All project has a total budget of $552.18 million, with $500 million provided by the World Bank and an additional $54 million from other sources.

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This initiative aims to tackle Nigeria’s educational challenges, where over 17 million children remain out of school. The project focuses on enhancing early childhood, primary, and junior secondary education while improving access to essential learning resources. The Federal Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education and the Universal Basic Education Commission, will oversee implementation.

The project is currently in the ‘Concept Review’ phase, involving extensive consultations to finalize its framework.

Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0
The second project, Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0, seeks an $80 million loan from the World Bank to address malnutrition and food insecurity.

This initiative aims to enhance access to quality nutrition services, focusing on pregnant women, lactating mothers, adolescent girls, and children under five. The program will integrate primary healthcare facilities and community-based interventions with nutrition-smart agricultural strategies to improve food security and dietary diversity.

The project is currently in the ‘Decision Meeting’ stage, signaling that approval is imminent.

Nigeria’s History of Borrowing from the World Bank
Over the past 18 months, the Tinubu administration has secured $6.95 billion in loans from the World Bank to address various economic and social challenges.

Recent data from the Debt Management Office reveals that Nigeria’s total debt now stands at N142.31 trillion, with foreign debt alone estimated at $43.02 billion (N68.88 trillion). Multilateral institutions, including the World Bank and IMF, account for $20.58 billion of the country’s foreign debt.