Korede Abdullah in Lagos
In a sharp departure from policy platitudes, philanthropist Bill Gates has issued a dire warning that Nigeria is on the brink of a worsening health crisis due to its underwhelming healthcare budget and looming global aid cuts.
Speaking at the inaugural Goalkeepers event in Lagos on Wednesday, Gates stressed that the country’s health spending is alarmingly insufficient to meet its escalating challenges, particularly maternal and child mortality.
“The amount of money Nigeria spends on healthcare is very, very small,” Gates said, highlighting that even basic medical interventions like C-sections remain largely inaccessible in northern regions where home births dominate.
What sets this moment apart isn’t just the critique from one of the world’s most influential philanthropists, but the confluence of a domestic funding gap with a global pullback in health aid.
According to Gates, donor fatigue, redirected funds to crises like Ukraine, and shifting demographics in the West are all converging to choke vital lifelines such as UNICEF, Gavi, and the Global Fund.
“There will be less money for health in Nigeria next year than this year,” he warned, noting that even the Gates Foundation cannot plug these gaps.
“My money is not extra money… if they disappear, I’ll still spend my money — but it won’t be enough”, Gates explained.
Beyond critique, Gates pointed to low-cost innovations like portable ultrasound devices and bleeding interventions as examples of scalable solutions.
But the underlying message was clear: Nigeria must urgently rethink its health priorities. “It’s tragic,” Gates concluded, “because children born here deserve the same chance as those in the richest countries. Yet without real investment, that equality remains a dream.”
