In furtherance of its moves to close the huge deficit in the 2025 budget now undergoing consideration by the National Assembly, the Federal Government is seeking two fresh loans totalling $580m from the World Bank Group next month.
According to the report on World Bank’s website, the loans are being solicited by the government for the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0; and HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All projects.
It is anticipated that the World Bank would grant approvals to the loan for the HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All project on March 20, while the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 could be approved on March 27 this year
The HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All programme, which is designed to tackle Nigeria’s education crisis, where over 17 million children are out of school, has a commitment of $552.18 million, with $500 million to be sourced from the World Bank and an additional $54 millio from other sources.
The programme to be implemented by the Federal Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) is expected to enhance early childhood education, primary and junior secondary schooling, as well as expand access to learning resources.
The project remains in the ‘Concept Review’ phase, requiring further consultations before being finalized.
The second loan project, the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 project with an approved budget of $232 million on June 27, 2018, is expected to secure $80 million from the World Bank to address malnutrition and food insecurity.
This initial loan project was faced with a number of challenges, leading to some changes in the programme, including the cancellation of some amount from the total approved loan and the Federal Government is currently engaging the World Bank to get an extra loan for a second part of this project.
Designed to be implemented through primary healthcare facilities and community-based programmes, the project seeks to improve access to quality nutrition services, particularly for pregnant women, lactating mothers, adolescent girls, and children under five.
The project, currently at the ‘Decision Meeting’ stage, will include interventions such as nutrition-smart agriculture to bolster household food security and dietary diversity and part of the funding will support project management, government coordination, and data-driven decision-making to enhance long-term sustainability.
The President Bola Tinubu-led administration has secured loans worth $6.95 billion from the World Bank since his assumption of office on May 29, 2023.
