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Washington announced Saturday that it has signed a five-year bilateral agreement to strengthen Nigeria’s health system, signaling improved relations with Africa’s most populous nation following President Donald Trump’s public denouncement of attacks on Christians there.
Under the deal, Washington will contribute nearly $2.1 billion to help prevent HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and polio, and to support maternal and child health, a US State Department spokesperson said. Nigeria, in turn, has pledged to increase its national health spending by nearly $3 billion over the five-year period. The spokesperson added that the agreement places “a strong emphasis on promoting Christian faith-based health care providers.”
Last month, Trump surprised many by stating on social media that the United States was prepared to take military action in Nigeria to counter attacks on Christians. He described Christianity as facing an “existential threat” in Nigeria and “numerous other countries,” highlighting what his administration has identified as global persecution of Christians.
Washington has also reinstated Nigeria on its list of countries of “particular concern” regarding religious freedom and restricted the issuance of visas to Nigerians.
“The deal signed Saturday was negotiated in connection with reforms the Nigerian government has made to prioritize protecting Christian populations from violence,” the State Department spokesperson said.
Nigeria is roughly split between a predominantly Christian south and a predominantly Muslim north. The Nigerian government maintains that it does not tolerate religious persecution. However, the country has been fighting a jihadist insurgency since 2009, which has killed at least 40,000 people—both Christians and Muslims—and displaced around two million, according to the United Nations.
