Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Working to Support Nigeria’s Progress
In Nigeria, we work with government, the private sector, and civil society to help people lift themselves out of poverty. We want to see children, mothers and farmers, in particular, given the opportunities to lead healthy and productive lives.
With over 100 grants, the foundation works in Nigeria to achieve six main goals:
- Eradicate polio: We work at the international level with the World Health Organization and UNICEF, as well as at the country level, with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency and state governments, to ensure regular vaccinations and immunizations.
- Improve family health: We aim to reduce preventable deaths by focusing on maternal and child health; investing in programs that provide prenatal through postnatal care, as well as childhood immunization programs. We also address common healthcare challenges, including pneumonia, diarrheal diseases, and neglected tropical diseases, as well as access to clean water and proper sanitation and hygiene.
- Strengthen healthcare systems: We bolster primary healthcare and look for ways to integrate healthcare services to ensure a strong system for Nigeria’s people.
- Improve nutrition: We partner with the Dangote Foundation and others to address severe malnutrition and improve overall childhood nutrition.
- Increase agricultural productivity: We help smallholder farmers increase the yield of important crops such as yams, cassava, sorghum, cowpeas, and rice, as well as the productivity of their livestock. We do this by providing farmers with better tools, seeds, and systems, and also by supporting research and policies that help improve the lives of smallholder farmers over the long term.
- Enhance access to financial services: Our programs support the government’s aims to ensure that women, smallholder farmers, and other marginalized populations have access to the country’s financial system, which can help them save, spend, and plan for the future more effectively.
