The World Bank has approved a $1.57 billion financing package for Nigeria under a new program to support the country’s health and education sectors and contribute to sustainable energy supplies, the bank said on Monday.
The World Bank is the largest lender to Nigeria, with more than $15 billion in loans at the end of March, Debt Management Office data shows.
The bank said in a statement that the money would help increase the availability and effectiveness of financing for basic education and primary health care.
“The new funding includes $500 million to address governance issues hampering the delivery of education and health services, $570 million for the Primary Health Care Strengthening Program and $500 million for the Sustainable Power and Irrigation Project in Nigeria,” the bank said.
Nigeria is one of the countries where most children do not go to school. This is largely due to the insecure situation in the north of the country, where a long-running Islamist insurgency and armed kidnapping gangs have caused devastation.
The World Bank said some of the money will be used to improve the safety of dams to protect people from floods.
Floods are common in Nigeria. This year, up to a million people were affected after a dam burst in the northeastern state of Borno.
More flooding is expected in Nigeria after authorities in Cameroon began releasing water from a major dam to stop it from overflowing.
