World Bank $237 million for health, poverty reduction

The World Bank has approved loans totaling US $237 million for Nigeria to improve its health sector and reduce poverty in urban areas, officials said. A statement by the World Bank country office in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, on Friday said $127 million will be used to develop management capacity in the health system. Another $110 million will be devoted to poverty reduction efforts through community-based urban development projects. The Bank said public spending per capita on health was less than $5 and as low as $2 in some parts of Nigeria, contrary to $34 recommended for low-income countries by the World Health Organization. The funding will be used to redress the decline in the provision of basic health care services in 35 of Nigeria’s 36 states, it said. For the community-based poverty reduction project, habitats containing more than two million people each have beenidentified in seven states to benefit from the funding programme. The objective is to ensure improved living standards "by facilitating adequate, efficient and functional service delivery" in urban centers. The Bank said this was necessary in view of evidence pointing to a sharp rise in the incidence of poverty in urban areas in Nigeria. "Although the steep rise in households living below the poverty line from 27 percent in 1980 to 66 percent in 1996 tends to affect the rural people more, the incidence of poverty in towns and cities has climbed from 17 percent to about 58 percent," it said. The loans have been granted under concessionary terms, to be repaid over 40 years at no interest charges.