Prior to USAID’s exit from the Nigerian development and humanitarian programming space in January 2025, the Mission was the country’s largest international development funder, outstripping all other bilaterals including the European Union. USAID was on record classifying Nigeria as “the single most important strategic partner for the United States in Africa”(https://2021-2025.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ICS_AF_Nigeria_Public.pdf) USAID’s annual official assistance to Nigeria between 2002 to 2024 increased from US$90m in 2002, to US$942,178,693.00 million in 2024. In the 9 years between 2015 to 2024, health and humanitarian assistance sectors in Nigeria were the main recipients of USAID’s funding. USAID obligated $2.54 billion to Nigeria’s humanitarian sector between 2020 and 2024 and over $2.8 billion to Nigeria’s health sector to combat diseases like HIV/AIDS (via PEPFAR), malaria, and tuberculosis. In the education sector, $75million was obligated between 2014 and 2017 (https:/policycommons.net/artifacts/18356672/education-overview-activities/19257144/). Between 2002 to 2024, USAID’s support for Nigeria’s education sector hovered below US$50m per annum, increasing significantly in 2023.
