The World Bank is set to approve fresh loans totaling $632m to Nigeria today (Monday) amid mounting concerns over the country’s rising debt profile
The loans are intended to support key areas, including improving nutrition and providing quality basic education.
According to information from the World Bank’s website on Sunday, two loans are set to be approved today: $80 million for the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 project and $552 million for the HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All program.
Both projects are currently in the negotiation phase and are expected to receive final approval later today. These loans are part of the World Bank’s broader strategy to support Nigeria’s development, particularly in healthcare, education, and community resilience.
The loans are expected to strengthen the government’s efforts to improve nutrition outcomes and increase access to quality education for Nigerian children.
In addition, the World Bank had already approved a $500 million loan to Nigeria on March 28, 2025, to support the country’s Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme.
This approval marks an important step in addressing Nigeria’s economic challenges, focusing on expanding access to livelihood support, food security services, and grants for vulnerable households and businesses.
Officially called the NIGERIA: Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme, the initiative aims to provide critical assistance to households impacted by economic downturns and to strengthen community resilience.
The program targets vulnerable groups by offering grants to households and small businesses to alleviate economic difficulties.
This loan approval is expected to significantly boost Nigeria’s efforts to stimulate the economy through grassroots support, especially amid ongoing challenges like inflation and high living costs. The stimulus will focus on improving food security and generating economic opportunities for communities most affected by recent economic fluctuations.
The approval comes after a delay in the disbursement of funds for a previous loan aimed at supporting poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
Report showed that the World Bank disbursed to Nigeria about $315m out of the $800m approved for the National Social Safety-Net Program Scale Up.
For over a year, Nigeria has yet to get any further funds from the World Bank on this loan project, which was approved in December 2021. The delay in funds disbursement is likely linked to the issues of fraud detected under the programme.
President Bola Tinubu launched a social safety net programme that will distribute N25,000 to 15 million homes for three months in observance of the 2023 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation was tasked with carrying out the $800m World Bank loan project.
However, the Federal Government had to suspend the cash transfer programme for further investigation and revamping following alleged misappropriations within the programme.
Former humanitarian minister, Betta Edu, was earlier suspended due to the misappropriation of N585m earmarked for palliative distribution.
