By Jennifer Amarachi
Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has stated that Nigeria’s tax collection rates are poor, causing issues for financing important sectors such as health and education.
Gates made these remarks at Nutrivision 2024, a Pan-African youth nutrition dialogue in Abuja.
Gates replied in response to a query about prospective financing channels for large-scale public health projects.
His words, “Over time, Nigeria plans to fund the government more than it does now. Nigeria’s tax collection rate is actually quite low.
“If citizens want the education and the health things, as they develop the confidence that these programmes can be very well run, and our foundation is involved with a lot of the exemplars that are showing the way in terms of making sure the money is spent really well, running a very efficient primary health care system where the employees are doing great work, the centres are where they should be, you don’t have underloaded centres or overloaded centres”.
The donor stated that in order for citizens to trust the government’s ability to provide decent healthcare, finances for health programs must be managed well.
Gates emphasized the significance of maintaining an effective primary healthcare system with strategically situated and sufficiently staffed centers.
He stated that increasing credibility in health programs could result in increased fiscal flexibility, allowing Nigeria to prioritize basic healthcare expenditures.
“It’s exciting that we are driving the credibility of those health programmes and so that the citizens will feel like primary health care is amongst the priorities that should be very funded as you get some fiscal flexibility,” he added
Bill Gates was similarly optimistic about Nigeria’s ability to greatly increase agricultural output, implying that the country may shift from a net food importer to a big food exporter. He emphasized that enhanced finance facilities, comprehensive soil studies, and competent farmer advising services are critical to making this shift.
He stated: “Nigeria today is a net food importer and yet, given the geography, if
the right credit facilities and advice to farmers, soil surveys, things are available, there is the opportunity for Nigeria to more than double its food output, which would be pretty transformative, because it would mean that you would be a net food exporter. Instead of having to use extremely limited dollars, particularly the current exchange”.
He added that agricultural output, particularly in rural and northern areas, is critical for raising incomes. The billionaire also stated that by utilizing digital technologies and adopting new seed types, Nigeria might spark an agricultural “miracle” that would enhance the economy while also addressing equity and nutrition issues throughout the country.
