US billionaire and Gates Foundation Chair Bill Gates has expressed deep concern over Nigeria’s insufficient health budget, warning that it is inadequate to tackle the country’s pressing healthcare challenges. Speaking at the inaugural Goalkeepers event in Lagos, Gates highlighted that ongoing cuts in international aid mean Nigeria will receive even less funding for health next year, worsening the situation.
Gates pointed out that Nigeria’s low healthcare spending is a major factor behind its status as having the second-highest maternal and child mortality rates globally. He emphasized that many births in northern Nigeria occur at home without access to life-saving interventions like C-sections, which require substantial investment in health infrastructure.
To address this, the Gates Foundation is developing affordable tools such as ultrasound devices to identify high-risk pregnancies early, enabling better medical care for those cases. However, Gates acknowledged that limited funding and infrastructure make it difficult to ensure all mothers receive the necessary care to reduce mortality rates.
He also warned that aid reductions are affecting most African countries, predicting increased death rates due to shrinking health budgets. While the foundation remains committed to improving child health equity, Gates lamented that the cuts in US and European aid—largely redirected to other priorities—are creating a severe funding gap that the foundation cannot fully fill.
Gates urged global stakeholders to minimize aid cuts and restore funding to prevent a healthcare crisis. Despite Nigeria’s own efforts to mobilize additional funds, the losses from cuts to major global health programs like UNICEF and Gavi are expected to have devastating impacts on public health outcomes in Nigeria and beyond.