US Aid: Nigeria May Lose Access to $1.4bn Funding Over Christian Persecution Concerns

Nigeria’s access to a newly announced $1.4 billion U.S. health and humanitarian assistance package could be at risk if the Federal Government fails to show measurable progress in tackling violence against Christians.

The condition is contained in a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding between Washington and Abuja under the America First Global Health Strategy (AFGHS).

Signed on December 20, 2025, by the U.S. Department of State and the Nigerian government, the agreement provides for nearly $2.1 billion in U.S. support over five years for preventive and curative health programmes targeting HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, and polio.

As part of the agreement, Nigeria is expected to commit almost $3 billion in additional domestic health spending over the duration of the programme, described as the largest co-investment under the AFGHS.

The U.S. funding will also support Nigeria’s network of about 900 faith-based clinics and hospitals, which currently serve more than 30 percent of Nigerians.

However, the agreement makes the continuation of U.S. assistance subject to certain conditions, particularly concerning the protection of Christians from extremist violence.

According to the MoU, the agreement was “negotiated in connection with reforms the Nigerian government has made to prioritize protecting Christian populations from violence” and provides “significant dedicated funding” for Christian health facilities.

The agreement further warns: “As with all foreign assistance, the President and Secretary of State retain the right to pause or terminate any programme which do not align with the national interest, and the Trump administration expects Nigeria to continue to make progress ensuring that it combats extremist religious violence against vulnerable Christian populations.”

The issue has also received attention in the U.S. Congress, with the House of Representatives recently voting to make Nigeria’s access to aid conditional on verifiable actions to address Christian persecution.

The legislation passed by the House last month called on Abuja to take concrete measures to facilitate the return of internally displaced persons to their ancestral communities and protect persecuted Christians in the Middle Belt, among other requirements.

The wider $1.4 billion health package announced by Washington under the AFGHS is intended to expand integrated health services through faith- and community-based hospitals and clinics in more than 20 countries.

World Vision and local faith-based implementers will receive $850 million through a Faith and Community Initiative Award to strengthen more than 2,500 faith-based hospitals and clinics across 17 countries. More than 30,000 community health workers are expected to be trained, paid and equipped under the initiative.

A further $570 million will be distributed directly to faith-based and community hospitals through bilateral MoUs with governments, including Nigeria.

In addition to the health funding, the State Department announced $538 million in humanitarian assistance for Samaritan’s Purse and a World Vision–Compassion International consortium. The organisations are expected to reach seven million people across 16 humanitarian crises.

More than $100 million from the humanitarian allocation will be immediately available for disaster response in 23 countries prone to disasters.

The State Department described the combined $1.4 billion health package as its largest funding commitment to faith-based organisations in more than 20 years, with at least 80 percent of the resources expected to be directed to frontline services.

Nigeria’s agreement places particular emphasis on Christian faith-based healthcare providers, which it describes as “uniquely positioned” to complement public health facilities.

With the U.S. increasingly directing resources towards faith-based healthcare providers in countries where they account for 40 percent or more of health facilities, Nigeria’s ability to benefit from the funding could depend partly on Abuja’s response to concerns raised in Washington.

The U.S. State Department said Samaritan’s Purse, World Vision and Compassion International were selected because of their track record of rapidly deploying assistance in conflict and disaster zones without bureaucratic delays.

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