ActionAid Nigeria Says Nigeria’s Macroeconomic Growth Has Shown No Impact in Citizens Living Standard

By: Michael Mike

ActionAid Nigeria has expressed concerns that the country’s macroeconomic growth has failed to translate into better living standards for the majority of citizens.

ActionAid Nigeria, in a statement on Thursday by its Country Director, Andrew Mamedu said since 1960 when Nigeria got her independence, the Federal budget has climbed increasingly. Between 1999 and 2025 the Nigerian budget has climbed from approximately $3.1billion (excahange rate source: Oanda ₦299billion) to $36billion (exchange rate source Oanda ₦54.9trillion in 2025) yet, poverty rates in the same period have also increased proportionately in Nigeria from 42.7% of a population of 123 million people in 1999 to 52.5% of 230 million people today.   

Mamedu noted that: “The latest World Bank report reinforces the lived realities of Nigerians, confirming that poverty remains widespread and persistent. Although macroeconomic indicators suggest that Nigeria may be on a path toward recovery with GDP growth rates of between 3.13% and 3.9% in subsequent quarters of 2025, the benefits of such growth have not translated into real improvements in citizens’ livelihoods. Inflation may have eased marginally to 20.12% in August 2025 from 21.88% in July, while food and core inflation have also improved moderately; prices remain painfully high for the average Nigerian.” 

ActionAid Nigeria also noted that unemployment dropped from its 2020 peak of 10.85% to 5.05% in 2024, however, this statistical progress has not been felt by ordinary Nigerians. Historical analysis of the minimum wage reveals the dramatic erosion of economic value for the Nigerian worker.  The first official, unified National Minimum Wage was established in 1981 at ₦125 per month, which was equivalent to approximately £100 GBP at the prevailing exchange rate (source: OANDA, £1≈₦1.25 in 1981). By contrast, the current national minimum wage of ₦70,000 (officially adopted in 2024/2025) is worth approximately £35.63 GBP today (using the interbank exchange rate of £1≈₦1964.51 NGN). This comparison shows that the official minimum wage has lost nearly two thirds of its value in GBP terms since 1981. This stark disparity shows the failure of current wages to keep pace with cost of living and historical value. 

“Nigeria’s federal government set an ambitious target to raise the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio to 18% within three years, from the current 10%. The new tax reforms exempt individuals earning below One million naira annually and small businesses with turnovers under fifty million naira from income tax, an important but insufficient step given the scale of fiscal waste and inefficiency in government spending. 
Amidst these reforms, Nigeria continues to rely heavily on borrowing. The World Bank is expected to approve $750million in loans to Nigeria for strengthening healthcare, security and building resilient digital infrastructure.  

“Although the World Bank projects that Nigeria’s public debt-to-GDP ratio will decline for the first time in a decade from 42.9% to 39.8%, the sustainability of such debt amid poor fiscal accountability remains questionable.”

Mamedu added that: “Despite these borrowings, Nigeria continues to score low on budget transparency and citizen engagement. Weak accountability mechanisms and disproportionate spending on salaries and debt servicing have constrained the effectiveness of public expenditures. The U.S. Fiscal Transparency Report 2025 indicted Nigeria’s procurement system, citing the country’s failure to disclose key public procurement information. Past reports by the Auditor-General revealed contract fraud and procurement violations amounting to millions of dollars, while illicit financial flows continue to drain an estimated $18billion  annually twice the country’s 2025 budget deficit. 

He also reiterated that, “Nigeria’s economic indicators may suggest growth, but our people are not feeling it. When over half the population lives below the poverty line despite trillions spent in the name of development, it means something is fundamentally broken. Fiscal growth without human progress is failure.” This is why we must have a National Poverty Summit to confront our economic contradictions head-on and begin a national conversation on what truly works for the Nigerian people.”

The Country Director also called out civil society organisations, international NGOs, and local NGOs working on poverty eradication and alleviation, noting that it is an indictment on the sector if poverty continues to rise despite decades of interventions. “If after years of collective effort poverty has deepened, then we must admit that the strategies and approaches we are using are not sufficiently efficient or effective to provide the specific change Nigerians desperately want to see. This is a moment for honest reflection and renewed commitment.” 

ActionAid Nigeria therefore recommended that: “The Nigerian government must urgently convene a National Poverty Summit to move beyond fragmented policies and establish a unified, binding National Action Plan for poverty eradication. This essential emergency response requires immediate, non-negotiable action on Transparency, Accountability, and Data Integrity. This includes: strengthening anti-corruption agencies and overhauling the legal system to guarantee swift asset recovery; granting autonomy to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for independent data; and making the National Social Register publicly accessible for citizen verification. Furthermore, to address the poor at their level, all state governors must be mandated to hold public town halls and declare concrete, localised action plans with clear timelines for the transparent deployment of subventions and relief funds. 

“Citizens including Citizens groups like MOT!On must actively hold leaders accountable for public spending and policy outcomes, they must take advantage of FOI Act to track government expenditures, question contracts and mobiise public pressure when government action deviate from public interest. Citizens must reject the notion that their votes or efforts are pointless and instead adopt an aggressive, year-round stance of demanding transparency and accountability from all levels of government. 

“International Non-Governmental Organisations should fundamentally review their strategy in addressing poverty issues in Nigeria. Civil society, INGOs, and NGOs must re-examine their approaches to ensure that their interventions include a shift in their approach to aggressively working with the citizenry to hold government accountable and to challenge government impunity and demand concrete results for the poor and excluded.”

ActionAid Nigeria Says Nigeria’s Macroeconomic Growth Has Shown No Impact in Citizens Living Standard

Lesotho strengthens one health collaboration through national bridging workshop

By: Michael Mike

In a bid to strengthen coordination between human and animal health sectors, Lesotho’s Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Food Security, and Environment in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), convened a three-day National Bridging Workshop in Maseru District.

The workshop aimed to enhance the country’s One Health approach, recognizing the close link between human, animal, and environmental health. Many emerging and endemic diseases affecting humans originate from animals, transmitted directly, through food, or via the environment.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Deputy Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Ms. Matsoanelo Monyobi, emphasized the importance of dismantling sectoral silos to build a more resilient and responsive health system.

“Capacity must be comprehensive. If we want to build, we must first break down the silos that keep systems fragmented,” Ms. Monyobi said, highlighting the need for a unified approach to public health, animal health, and environmental challenges.
Representing WHO, Public Health Officer Dr. Sirak Hailu stressed the urgent need for integrated health approaches in the face of rising zoonotic threats.

“A majority of emerging, re-emerging, and endemic human diseases originate from animals,” he noted, citing recent outbreaks of Ebola, novel coronaviruses, and pandemic influenza as stark reminders of the interconnectedness of human and animal health.

Dr. Hailu also pointed out that the Ebola crisis revealed critical gaps in preparedness and underscored the need for a more solidary, multisectoral approach to health security.

Speaking on behalf of the FAO Representative, Mohlophehi Maope stressed the urgency of adopting the One Health approach. “This is no longer a choice, but it is a necessity,” he said. “Through this workshop, we have made tangible progress in building a shared understanding and developing a joint roadmap to enhance collaboration across the animal-human-environment interface. The joint planning, consensus-building, and prioritization efforts demonstrated here mark a significant step forward in putting the One Health Strategy into action.”
Dr. Mookho Ntiea, Director, Veterinary Field Operations, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, emphasized the importance of cross-sector collaboration in addressing health challenges. She added that this initiative will help us build stronger systems and partnerships to safeguard the well-being of our communities.

Sello Mabatla, District Environment Officer, expressed his enthusiasm for participating in the One Health workshop, highlighting its potential to foster a more integrated approach to tackling health issues in Lesotho.

“I’m pleased to be part of this One Health workshop. It presents a valuable opportunity to promote an integrated approach to addressing health issues in our country. By bringing together different ministries, this initiative will help bridge gaps and foster collaboration among key stakeholders. Together, we can develop a joint action plan to tackle health challenges more effectively.”

The One Health workshop concluded with a shared commitment to advancing multisectoral collaboration in Lesotho. Participants endorsed a consensus-driven roadmap aimed at improving coordination between the animal health, human health, and environmental sectors for the prevention, detection, and response to health threats. With clear ownership from all stakeholders and prioritization of the top five activities, the workshop laid a solid foundation for actionable progress. By aligning the WHO’s International Health Regulations Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (IHR MEF) and WOAH’s Performance of Veterinary Services (PVS) Pathway, Lesotho is poised to strengthen its national health systems and build a more integrated, proactive approach to safeguarding public health.

This activity was made possible through funding from the Pandemic Fund.

Lesotho strengthens one health collaboration through national bridging workshop

UN Women, IOFS Say Access to Land for Women, Key to Nigeria’s Economic Growth

By: Michael Mike

The UN Women and the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS) have advocated expanded inclusion of women access to land and other developmental infrastructure in the Cassava Value Chain production for economic growth of the nation.

They made the position know at the National Stakeholder Debriefing & Consultation Meeting on Cassava Value Chain, jointly organised in Abuja to review progress and lessons learned within the cassava value chain.

The UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Beatrice Eyong in her submission at the meeting, emphasised that women play a critical role in the cassava value chain but have been marginalised in production infrastructure hence the need to address the trend.

She said: “Today, we focus on cassava, a crop that is not only climate-resilient but also central to women’s livelihoods. Women are the backbone of cassava processing, yet they bear the greatest weight of climate change and unpaid care work. By turning Cassava’s potential into opportunity, we can shift heavy labour into profitable entrepreneurship, create decent green jobs, and drive inclusive, sustainable growth for our communities and our country.”

She added that: “Yet the reality is that women in cassava value chains remain trapped in low-income, labor-intensive roles with limited returns. They lack access to improved seedlings, modern processing equipment, credit facilities, and secure markets, factors that reduce efficiency and limit their ability to scale. In many cases, women process cassava manually, spending long hours in unsafe conditions with minimal financial gain. These barriers reinforce poverty cycles and exclude women from the higher-value segments of the cassava economy.

“This initiative seeks to change that story. By equipping women with climate-smart technologies, access to microfinance and cooperatives, and linkages to formal markets, we will open pathways for women to move from subsistence to enterprise. With targeted training, supportive policies, and investments in infrastructure such as mechanized processing centers and renewable energy solutions, women can become leaders in the cassava value chain—driving innovation, resilience, and economic empowerment.

“This initiative recognizes that resilience is not possible when women spend up to 12 hours daily on unpaid care work. That is why we are combining skills development with investments in energy, water, and time-saving infrastructure, enabling women to be more productive, earn more, and expand their opportunities.”

She further said that: “At UN Women, we know from experience that when women farmers are supported with the right tools, policies, and resources, they lift entire households and communities. Through this partnership with the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS), we reaffirm our mandate to ensure women are not just beneficiaries, but leaders in food security and climate resilience.

“Our collective call to action is clear: let us work together to expand women’s access to climate-smart technologies, finance, and markets; to strengthen the policies that recognize and protect their roles; and to create green jobs that secure a more equitable and resilient future for Nigeria.”

The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi who stressed that women were vital to agricultural development in the society emphasised the need for collaboration of all stakeholders in ensuring inclusiveness of women in key decision making in the Cassava Value Chain.

On his part the Lead Consultant in the Islamic Organisation for Food Security, IOFS, Dr. William Agyei-Manu Identified actionable strategies to strengthen food security, enhance gender inclusion, and promote sustainable agricultural development in Nigeria.

He said: “For IOFS, it is a beginning of a new phase of joint action. We are fully committed to: Supporting national partners in developing gender-responsive cassava strategies and policy frameworks that integrate women and youth at every stage of the value chain; Facilitating partnerships between government institutions, research centers, and financial entities to improve access to technology, finance, and infrastructure; Investing in capacity building and common-userprocessing facilities, ensuring women farmers and processors can move from subsistence to entrepreneurship; Leveraging regional cooperation through the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to share innovations, strengthen trade, and replicate successful models across member states.”

The Representatives from Women Affairs Ministry, the NEXIM bank, GIZ and FCT Women Affairs Secretariat who gave goodwill messages all affirmed that the inclusion of women and accessibility to technology and infrastructure in the cassava value chain would greatly reduce poverty and develop the country.

UN Women, IOFS Say Access to Land for Women, Key to Nigeria’s Economic Growth