The Federal Government has signed a five-year, $5.1 billion bilateral health cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United States Government to advance the America First Global Health Strategy.
This collaboration is aimed at supporting resilient, self-reliant, and durable health systems while promoting accountability and shared responsibility.
This was made known in a statement titled, ‘Strengthening U.S.-Nigerian Health Cooperation under the America First Global Health Strategy’, by the US mission in Nigeria on Sunday, December 21, 2025, and can be seen on its website.
The US mission stated that under the five-year MOU, which was signed on December 19, the United States intends to commit nearly $2.1 billion in health assistance, with nearly $3.0 billion in new domestic health expenditures by the Government of Nigeria over the same five-year period.
This represents the largest co-investment any country has made to date under the America First Global Health Strategy and underscores Nigeria’s commitment to greater national ownership of its health system.
US to intensify support
The US mission in Nigeria, in the statement said, ‘’Under the MOU, the United States will continue to support surveillance and outbreak response, laboratory systems, health commodities; frontline healthcare workers, and data systems. Nigeria faces significant health challenges, including one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates globally and approximately 30 percent of the global malaria burden.
‘’U.S. assistance under the MOU will expand access to affordable, preventive and curative services for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, polio, and maternal and child health, strengthening health outcomes across Nigeria.
‘’The MOU places a strong emphasis on Christian faith-based healthcare providers, recognizing their indispensable role in delivering care to communities in need. Nigeria’s more than 900 faith-based clinics and hospitals serve more than 30 percent of the country’s 230 million people, often in areas where healthcare facilities are limited or absent.’’
It stated that the MOU provides approximately $200 million in dedicated support to strengthen and support these Christian facilities, enhance workforce capacity, and expand access to integrated HIV, TB, malaria, and maternal and child health services.
‘’Investments in Christian faith-based health institutions are uniquely positioned to complement public-sector facilities and reinforce Nigeria’s overall health infrastructure.
‘’The MOU was negotiated in connection with reforms undertaken by the Government of Nigeria to prioritize the protection of Christian populations from extremist violence,’’ the statement added.
It noted that, as with all U.S. foreign assistance, the President and Secretary of State retain the right to pause or terminate programs that do not align with U.S. national interests, adding the United States expects Nigeria to continue making measurable progress in combating religiously motivated violence against Christian communities.
This five-year MOU is the latest of several health cooperation MOUs signed in Africa this month. The United States will continue to sign multi-year Bilateral Agreements on Global Health Cooperation with countries receiving U.S. health assistance to advance the America First Global Health Strategy.
What you should know
Nigeria is reported to be facing significant health challenges, primarily high burdens of infectious diseases like malaria (leading killer), HIV/AIDS, TB, cholera, and Lassa fever, alongside rising non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Key issues also include poor healthcare infrastructure, underfunding, brain drain of medical professionals, inadequate sanitation (WASH), malnutrition, pollution, and high out-of-pocket costs, exacerbating maternal/child mortality and disease outbreaks.
Meanwhile, the federal government has said it is pushing forward with ongoing health sector reforms aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system and improving health outcomes.
It, however, admitted that funding gaps and longstanding resource constraints continue to undermine progress in the sector.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, who made this known, said the administration is intensifying investments in health infrastructure, human resources, vaccines, and essential commodities, describing the efforts as central to sustaining early gains under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
