By Chijioke Okoronkwo, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump accentuated his protectionist leaning by signing a flurry of executive orders affecting a wide range of issues including U.S. foreign aids.
In his “America First’’ stance, Trump signed Executive Order 14169, titled “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid”, imposing a 90-day pause on foreign aids pending review of all the programmes.
Trump’s actions, no doubt, are causing provision and supply chain disruptions as countries adjust to the shock even as some unleash counter measures on the U.S.
Of particular concern to Nigerians and some global solutionists is the freeze on U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) which intervenes in clean water, HIV/AIDS treatments, disaster management, migration, energy security, anti-corruption as well as women’s health in conflict zones.
Trump had, also, via an executive order, announced U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organisation(WHO).
Against the unfolding backlashes, U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, provided a bulwark.
Rubio said the U.S. had continued to provide foreign aid after USAID had its programmes frozen pending a review.
“I am not against foreign aid; I have supported foreign aid; we are going to do foreign aid.’’
Rubio, who spoke with Catherine Herridge for X, said he had no regrets about USAID and argued that some programmes “should not have ever existed.”
Note, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the world’s leading HIV initiative.
Perceptive stakeholders in Nigeria are also worried about U.S. PEPFAR programme which currently covers close to 90 per cent of the treatment for HIV patients.
Rubio had also announced an “emergency humanitarian waiver” allowing PEPFAR to continue providing life-saving HIV medications to low-income countries.
Available data indicates that in 2023, USAID committed 1 billion dollars to Nigeria, while in 2024, it allocated 780 million dollars–health remains a focal point of USAID’s operations in Nigeria.
Regrettably, all overseas missions for USAID had been ordered to shut down while members of staff are being recalled.
“All USAID direct hire personnel, except designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership, and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally.
“Concurrently, USAID is beginning to implement a Reduction-in-Force that will affect approximately 1,600 USAID personnel with duty stations in the United States,” USAID said.
Nonetheless, the Federal Government is rallying to bridge the USAID funding gap by fortifying ongoing health sector reforms.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, said that Nigeria anticipated a decline in global financial aid and is actively working towards bolstering its health system by leveraging domestic resources.
Pate highlighted that the decline was expected even before the U.S. Govt. publicly announced cuts to funding for agencies supporting developing countries.
Regardless of the obstacles, Pate expressed heartfelt gratitude to the U.S. government for its extensive and generous support over the years, acknowledging the positive impact on Nigeria’s healthcare system.
“For the past two decades, many countries worldwide have benefited from lifesaving interventions, particularly in HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, thanks to the generosity of the U.S. Government and its people.
“For Nigeria, we sincerely appreciate all the support received.
“However, it is unwise for any country to rely entirely on another for the health and lives of its population,” he said.
Pate reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to prioritising health, noting that the country had made significant advancements in the healthcare sector.
He emphasised the government’s determination to improve the well-being of citizens, and that the cuts in aid were understandable, given the U.S. government’s current interests.
“Here in Nigeria, we are focused on rebuilding our health system, strengthening domestic resources, and providing services for our citizens.
“We aim to cooperate with other countries in Africa and globally to enhance biosecurity and health security while fostering private-sector investments.’’
The minister said that Nigeria had approved the ratification of the African Medicines Agency Treaty, which would help Nigeria become part of a larger African market for locally produced medicines.
He said there were investment opportunities in Nigeria’s health sector and invited American partners to participate.
“We have innovations, tools, systems, and technologies that we can trade.
“We are open and confident that, as the direction of the U.S. Government evolves, Nigeria will continue to welcome genuine partnerships with the U.S. and other countries.
“These partnerships should be focused on advancing humanity while respecting each nation’s interests,” Pate said.
Sharing similar sentiments, Dr Iziaq Salako, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, said the U.S. Government’s announcement to halt donations for HIV treatment in developing nations was a wake-up call for self-independence.
Salako said the government would identify avenues to raise domestic and alternative funds.
“I believe that it is a wake-up call for us to strategise and think the way we do things and ensure that we also are able to exert ourselves and create some level of independence within our system.
“To that extent, a series of meetings have been convened, and there is an ongoing discussion with United Nations bodies, WHO, UNDP and others that work within the health space so that we can also harvest their opinion.
“We are also looking at other avenues to raise domestic and alternative revenue.
“For example, our HIV programme is heavily supported by the U.S. Government; we are looking at crowd funding to support that in addition to the government making available more funding.”
The minister expressed optimism that the U.S. Government would continue to play its role in the global community.
“I must say that the world is a global village and what happens in one country easily affects the other country.
“America cannot operate in isolation, just like Nigeria cannot operate in isolation, or any other country of the world, for that matter.
“So, I believe that reason will prevail and the American government will continue to play the role it ought to play within the global community,” he said.
In the prevailing context, experts say Nigerians must look inwards and become more innovative.
Dr Ejike Oji, Chairman, Association for the Advancement of Family Planning in Nigeria (AAFP), weighed in.
Oji said there was there was no better time for the Nigerian health sector to be imaginative.
He advised Nigerians to be innovative, self-sustaining and reliant in terms of medical interventions.
According to him, there is need for Nigerians to brace up for alternatives.
“By this I mean, we should be substantive with what we have.
”This is the time for our people to be innovative and self-sustaining in order to meet up with our financial demands than relying on international donors.
”We need to be self-sustaining now than depending on international donors, because many of these donors will withdraw their support as a result of America’s withdrawal,” he said.
More so, Ijeoma Nwankwo, a Pharmacist, and Senior Programme Officer for the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria Foundation (PSNF), said that the impact would be most severe for underserved communities.
“Many Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) working in hard-to-reach areas depend on this funding to provide services.
“With donor cuts, those free services will either shrink or disappear entirely,” she said.
Nwankwo, a leading advocate in reproductive health, said that the shift was particularly troubling because over 60 per cent of Nigerian women already accessed family planning through private providers.
Nwankwo suggested integrating family planning into Nigeria’s health insurance schemes.
“Lagos State, with its relatively robust insurance programme (LASHMA), is already exploring ways to cover family planning services under its health insurance plan.
“If successful, this model could be replicated nationwide,” she said.
She said technology would play a pivotal role in bridging the gap.
Dr Stanley Ilechukwu, a Community Advocate, called for a strategic shift in investment by prioritising state and community-level funding over-reliance on federal allocations or international donors.
Ilechukwu said that investing at least N1 million per Primary Healthcare Center (PHC) to strengthen its capacity to provide essential reproductive health services was a possible solution.
“This level of investment would go a long way in supporting PHCs to sustain family planning services,” he said.
Deserving no less attention, Dr Stanley Ukpai, Director of Projects at dRPC, called for a fundamental shift in strategy.
“Our advocacy messaging has to change; now that we are in a crisis, we need bold and urgent solutions,” he said.
He said that without immediate intervention, millions of Nigerian women may find themselves without the reproductive healthcare they needed, further deepening the country’s maternal health crisis.
As the U.S. judicial system scrambles to intercept Trump’s blitz on USAID, discerning stakeholders say Nigeria must activate effective buffer measures to avert any crisis that may result from the funding hiatus. (NANFeatures)
