Nigeria secures fresh $1.57 billion loan from World Bank

Abuja, Oct 1: Nigeria has freshly secured up to $1.57 billion in financing from the World Bank to strengthen human capital through better health for women, children, and adolescents while building resilience to the effects of climate change.

The new loan includes some $500 million to address the governance issues that constrain education and health, $570 million to strengthen primary health care, and another $500 million for the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria (SPIN) project, Ndiame Diop, Country Director for the World Bank in Nigeria, said in a statement on Monday.

"This new financing for human capital and primary health care will help address the complex difficulties faced by Nigerians, especially women and girls around access and quality of services, but also the governance arrangements that also explain these difficulties," Diop said, Xinhua News agency reported.

The SPIN programme was timely and will protect Nigerians from floods and drought in the areas where it will be implemented, the official said, noting this would enable an increase in hydropower generation.