US Billionare Entrepreneur, Bill Gates has stated that Nigeria’s healthcare system especially in the north is still far behind the healthcare systems in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso despite those countries being riddled by military coups.
Bill Gates northern pointed that Nigeria still has one of the lowest vaccination levels in Africa. He said this while responding to a question by The Africa Report on whether the coups had upended health systems in these countries during a roundtable discussion.
Speaking on the countries under military Junta rule, Bill Gates noted, “Some of those countries run, within the areas of stability, pretty decent health systems. Burkina Faso also runs a good health system. That has not changed,”
Contributing to the discussion, Dr. Paulin Basinga — the Gates Foundation’s global director for policy, advocacy, and communication — said the military regimes in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger did not interfere with existing health structures.
Northern Nigeria’s Healthcare Challenges
The Microsoft founder said, on the contrary, states like Sokoto in North West Nigeria continue to lag behind in healthcare delivery.
“You know, you mentioned Niger. I wish that Sokoto, which is a state up here, could have nearly the vaccination rate that Niger has. It’s much worse, much lower. More children die because the primary healthcare system is not as well run as it is in Niger,” He said
Gates stated that although countries such as the Central African Republic, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to face challenges, northern Nigeria stands out, primarily due to the sheer number of children affected.
“The Sahel is tough, but more children live in northern Nigeria than in all those other countries combined — and that’s where we have the lowest vaccination rates in Africa. Even lower than Somalia,” Gates said. But, you know, I’m very upset about it, and we’ll see more HIV deaths, more malaria deaths, more maternal deaths.”
The philanthropist said that findings have shown that, in some cases, poorer countries have better vaccination rates than their much wealthier counterparts.
Nigeria’s Healthcare Efforts
Bill Gates commended Nigeria’s health minister, Ali Pate, for addressing some of the challenges in the country’s health sector. Specifically, he praised Pate for advocating an increase in the federal health budget.
In April, Nigeria allocated an additional $200m to health in its 2025 budget to avert a potential crisis after the administration of US President Donald Trump announced sweeping cuts to foreign aid.
However, Gates noted that the extra $200m would not be enough to close the funding gap, adding that Nigeria’s health budget remains insufficient.
“There’s no way the government can cover all of that shortfall. I mean, they’ll fund some things — they’ve got an extra $200m — but that’s nowhere near enough to replace the money that’s disappearing.
“The amount Nigeria spends on healthcare is very, very small and insufficient to tackle the crises it faces. More children die because the primary healthcare system is not as well run as it is in Niger.” Gates said.
He said the situation could worsen once the US cuts to funding for UNICEF, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, and other multilateral institutions are fully implemented.
Gates also expressed concern that other wealthy Western countries, such as the UK and Germany, have reduced their foreign aid budgets by about 40% to boost security spending. The result, he warned, will be more deaths in poorer countries.
