Nigeria could lose access to a fresh $1.4 billion U.S. health and humanitarian assistance package if the Federal Government fails to take measurable steps to address violence against Christians, according to conditions contained in a bilateral agreement between Nigeria and the United States.
The agreement, signed on December 20, 2025, between the U.S. Department of State and the Nigerian government under the America First Global Health Strategy (AFGHS), provides for nearly $2.1 billion in U.S. support over five years for HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, and polio programmes.
Under the agreement, Nigeria is also expected to increase its domestic health spending by nearly $3 billion during the five-year period.
A significant portion of the U.S. funding is expected to support Nigeria’s faith-based hospitals and clinics, which provide healthcare services to millions of Nigerians.
However, the agreement contains conditions linked to the protection of vulnerable Christian communities. It states that the partnership was negotiated alongside reforms by the Nigerian government aimed at protecting Christian populations from violence.
The agreement also gives the U.S. administration the authority to suspend or terminate programmes that are considered inconsistent with U.S. national interests.
It further expects Nigeria to continue making progress in combating extremist religious violence against vulnerable Christian populations.
The issue has also attracted attention in the U.S. Congress. The House of Representatives recently approved legislation seeking to link U.S. assistance to Nigeria with verifiable actions to address alleged Christian persecution.
Among other measures, the legislation calls for concrete steps to facilitate the return of internally displaced persons to their ancestral communities and strengthen the protection of persecuted Christians, particularly in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
Meanwhile, the latest U.S. assistance package includes $1.4 billion for integrated healthcare services delivered through faith-based and community hospitals and clinics in more than 20 countries.
Of the amount, $850 million will be provided through the Faith and Community Initiative Award to World Vision and local faith-based organisations to strengthen more than 2,500 hospitals and clinics across 17 countries.
The programme is also expected to support the training, payment and provision of equipment for more than 30,000 community health workers.
Another $570 million will be channelled directly to faith-based and community hospitals through bilateral agreements with governments, including Nigeria.
In addition, the U.S. Department of State announced $538 million in humanitarian assistance for Samaritan’s Purse and a World Vision–Compassion International consortium to provide support to about seven million people affected by 16 humanitarian crises.
More than $100 million is expected to be made immediately available for disaster response in 23 countries vulnerable to natural disasters.
The U.S. government said the combined $1.4 billion health package represents its largest funding commitment to faith-based organisations in more than two decades, with at least 80 percent of the resources expected to go directly to frontline services.
For Nigeria, the agreement places particular emphasis on Christian faith-based healthcare providers, which the U.S. describes as important partners in complementing government health facilities.
Nigeria’s eligibility for the new funding could therefore depend partly on how the Federal Government responds to concerns raised by U.S. officials and lawmakers over religious violence and the protection of vulnerable communities.
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