Pate defends US health MoU, says Nigeria to spend nearly $3bn of its own money
- Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate says the US health agreement is legally non-binding and respects Nigerian law.
- Under the deal, US support of nearly $2 billion over five years declines as Nigeria adds nearly $3 billion.
- Pate says NAFDAC keeps its powers and urged Nigerians to request the document under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, has defended Nigeria's health agreement with the United States, saying it is legally non-binding, recognises Nigerian law and lets either side pull out.
In a piece published by ThisDay, Pate said the agreement, signed on 19 December 2025 and running from April 2026 to December 2030, is about Nigeria gradually paying more for its own health services instead of relying on foreign aid.
He said planned US support is nearly $2 billion over five years and falls over that period, while Nigeria plans to add nearly $3 billion of its own health financing.
That Nigerian money, he said, stays in the country and goes to priorities set by Nigeria, including HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, laboratories, health workers, medicines and data systems.
What it means for patients
For ordinary Nigerians, the minister said the goal is to keep treatment going as foreign funding shrinks. People living with HIV should keep getting their drugs, and deaths from malaria and tuberculosis should fall, he said.
Pate said the 2025 federal health budget rose by nearly 60 per cent, lifting health's share of the national budget to 5.2 per cent from just over 3 per cent. President Bola Tinubu proposed ₦2.48 trillion for health in the 2026 budget, which was signed into law with total spending of ₦68.32 trillion.
Under the agreement, he said, Nigeria's own contribution is judged by money actually spent, not by budget promises: at least 6 per cent of what federal and state governments actually spend each year must go to health.
On fears about foreign control, Pate said the Attorney-General of the Federation reviewed and cleared the agreement. NAFDAC, he added, keeps its full powers over medicines, vaccines and diagnostics, and may consider assessments by recognised regulators abroad but still makes Nigeria's own decision.
He also addressed a provision that about 10 per cent of planned US support is meant for eligible faith-based health providers. He said this does not favour any religion, and that the US Ambassador at the signing noted that both Christian and Muslim providers could qualify.
Pate said the agreement moves funding towards government budgets, with audits and performance reviews, so government can see how money is spent.
What happens next
Pate urged citizens, journalists, researchers and civil society groups to request a copy of the agreement under the Freedom of Information Act so public debate rests on the text itself.
He said success by 2030 will be measured not by how much aid Nigeria received, but by how much stronger and more self-reliant its health system became as that aid declined.