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World Bank Awards $27m to 20 Nigerian States for Reforms
The World Bank will disburse $27 million in performance-based grants to 20 Nigerian states under the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) Governance Programme, after they met key reform targets in education, healthcare, and public financial management.
National Coordinator Dr. Assad Hassan announced the disbursement during a retreat in Abuja, explaining that the incentives were tied to states’ performance against Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results (DLRs).
The benchmarks included adopting comprehensive planning guidelines for basic education and primary healthcare, implementing harmonised local government budget guidelines, and publishing citizens’ budgets to improve transparency.
Following verification by the Independent Verification Agent (IVA), states such as Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi, and Yobe each qualified for $1.5m under education reforms and another $1.5m under healthcare reforms.
Under budget harmonisation (DLR 2.3), Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kano, Plateau, Taraba, and Yobe will each receive $500,000.
Meanwhile, Abia, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau, and Yobe earned $500,000 each for publishing their 2025 Citizens’ Budgets.
Hassan noted that other states failed to qualify due to missed deadlines or failure to publish required documents.
“The incentives were awarded based on states’ performance against reform milestones that must be achieved before becoming eligible for funding,” he said.
The HOPE Governance Programme, a $500m World Bank-backed initiative, was launched in December 2025 to strengthen financial management and workforce systems in Nigeria’s basic education and primary healthcare sectors.
Of the total, $480m is earmarked for grants, while $20m supports technical assistance and institutional strengthening.
The programme comes amid persistent challenges in Nigeria’s social sectors. UNICEF reported in 2024 that 70% of schools and 88% of health facilities lack basic sanitation, while the 2025 State Performance Index showed fewer than 30% of Nigerians are satisfied with public healthcare services.
The HOPE initiative aims to close these gaps through performance-based funding and accountability reforms.
Source: EconomicConfidential | Read the Full Story…
