US billionaire and Chair of the Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, has raised concerns about Nigeria’s health budget, describing it as too small to effectively address the country’s health challenges.

Speaking to journalists yesterday in Lagos during the inaugural Goalkeepers event by the Gates Foundation in Nigeria, Gates highlighted the pressure that health budgets are under, especially with the ongoing aid cuts.

He stated, “There will be less money for health in Nigeria next year than this year.”

Gates pointed out that the inadequate funding partly explains why Nigeria has the world’s second-highest rates of maternal and child mortality.

He explained, “The amount of money Nigeria spends on healthcare is very, very small. So I don’t know why you would have expected that number to go down. If a mother delivers at home, there are certain complications that you can’t solve.”

He elaborated on the challenges faced in northern Nigeria, saying, “What countries like India do is that they drive delivery into centres where they can give C-sections, but that takes money.”

“So in northern Nigeria, about half the births are at home, and even the ones that aren’t at home, many of those centres can’t do C-sections. So, unfortunately, you’re going to have a maternal mortality problem because of that.”

The Gates Foundation is working on affordable technologies such as an ultrasound scanning device to identify high-risk deliveries.

Gates said, “So the 10 per cent it identifies as high-risk, hopefully you can take them on to a medical facility, even though that might not be easy, and the other 90 per cent you can stay in the community.”

He also highlighted an effective bleeding intervention trial, noting, “Our bleeding intervention, where we had a trial that was so impactful that it was stopped early.”

“There’s actually an amazing doctor at the hospital who ran that study, and it is just an incredible thing because this is cheap.”

Gates warned that in almost every African country, reductions in funding would result in a significant rise in deaths.

He emphasized the foundation’s commitment to ensuring children born in Nigeria have equal opportunities as those in the richest countries, saying, “I think we can make a lot of progress, even though in the near term, it’s an awful situation that the aid budgets are being cut significantly, and in some cases without any sort of warning at all. And that’s tragic.”

He called for a reduction in aid cuts or their restoration, adding, “I will advocate that the cuts be minimised or that we get them restored when we can. But, you know, I won’t be able to get them.”

Responding to whether the Gates Foundation can fill the funding gap caused by US aid cuts, Gates said, “There’s nobody who can match that U.S. government money. And the European money is all coming down. We have, like, a 40% decrease from Germany, from the U.K. In their case, it’s less ideological and more to do with just getting money for Ukraine or ageing society.”

He clarified the foundation’s financial limitations, stating, “Well, the problem with the Gates Foundation is that we don’t have some special bucket of money. We spend more every year, and all my money will be spent.”

“And so no matter what the other people do, it’s the same amount of money. If they increase, I’ll still spend my money. If they disappear, I’ll still spend my money. So my money is not extra money.”

Gates noted that Nigeria managed to mobilize an additional $200 million, but warned, “that’s not anywhere close to the money that’s disappearing.”

“And you’re yet to see what happens when UNICEF gets cut, and Gavi gets cut, and Global Fund gets cut. So people don’t like speaking up about it, but this is terrible.”

The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) comprising Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, has been invited to participate in the upcoming West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) in Abuja, despite their official withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) earlier this year.

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, disclosed this during a private sector roundtable held in Lagos.

The three Sahel nations, all currently under military rule, formally exited ECOWAS on January 29, 2025, following a year-long notice period after announcing their departure.

The withdrawal came amid rising diplomatic tensions in the region.

However, Ambassador Tuggar emphasized that diplomatic relations remain in place.

“We have invited them,” he said, affirming continued ties between Nigeria and its northern neighbours.

“We also have, whether someone likes it or not, certain things that bring us together. For instance, we have the Nigeria-Niger Joint Commission that has been doing so much good work,” he added.

Highlighting the importance of regional collaboration, the minister continued, “We have to put all of that aside and yes, we need them; we need the AES for security, but they need us too.”

The private sector roundtable marks the Ministry’s first formal engagement in the lead-up to WAES, which Tuggar described as a “strategic legacy initiative” championed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other West African leaders.

The summit, scheduled for June 20–21 in Abuja, aims to transform regional economic structures from dependence to productivity while promoting integrated value chains.

It is expected to attract Heads of State, ministers, investors, and key regional institutions from across West Africa to discuss economic cooperation and sustainable growth.

African leaders and citizens reacted with alarm on Thursday following U.S President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a sweeping travel ban on citizens from 12 countries, seven of which are in Africa.

Under the new executive order signed Wednesday, nationals from Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan are now barred from entering the United States.

The Trump administration cited national security and terrorism concerns as the primary justification.

In a swift response, the African Union (AU) criticized the move, warning that it would damage long-standing partnerships between the continent and the U.S.

The AU said in a statement the decision would harm “people-to-people ties, educational exchange, commercial engagement, and broader diplomatic relations” built over decades.

The organization urged Washington to take a different path: “It appealed to Washington to adopt a ‘consultative approach and to engage in constructive dialogue with the countries concerned’.”

Beyond Africa, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Haiti, Iran, and Yemen were also added to the full ban list.

Chad’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul expressed disbelief, telling AFP the country was “surprised by this announcement and even more by the terrorism-related reason (which) completely disregards Chad’s commitment and results in this area.”

In Mogadishu, the Somali government remained officially silent, but residents voiced frustration and heartbreak.

“I totally disagree with the president of the United States’ decision,” said Salad Abdullahi Mohamed.

“Somali immigrants reached there after a long, hazardous trip to get a better life,” he added.

Fellow resident Ali Abdullahi Ali agreed, saying migrants were just hoping “to make a better living and help their parents.”

He continued: “I would call on the president to make this decision null and void and also give the necessary documents to stay and continue living and working there.”

President Trump, who signed the order from the Oval Office, said the decision was made in response to a recent flamethrower attack at a pro-Israel protest in Boulder, Colorado, allegedly carried out by a man residing in the U.S. illegally.

In a video message posted on X (formerly Twitter), Trump declared: “The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted.”

“We don’t want them,” he added.

The suspect, Mohammed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national, is accused of launching firebombs at protestors and spraying them with gasoline.

Homeland Security officials said he had overstayed a tourist visa and had applied for asylum in 2022.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson echoed the administration’s position: “President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm.”

In addition to the 12 countries on the full ban list, the administration announced partial restrictions on seven others: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Citizens of these countries may still receive temporary work visas.

Athletes from banned nations will be allowed to participate in international events hosted by the U.S, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, according to the order.

Trump also declared a halt on issuing visas for foreign students newly admitted to Harvard University, a move viewed as part of his wider crackdown on what he perceives as elite liberal institutions.

Rights groups condemned the policy. Amnesty International USA labeled the order “discriminatory, racist, and downright cruel.”

In Myanmar, a student who had just received her U.S. visa two days before the announcement told AFP: “We don’t really have life here, and people want to escape to a country where we can breathe, we can walk, we can study.”

“I think it’s very shocking,” she said.

Critics argue the ban revives the most controversial elements of Trump’s earlier travel policies and may face legal hurdles, as similar executive orders did during his first term.

The official proclamation noted that countries such as Afghanistan, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen lack “competent” authorities to manage passport and identity verification processes. Iran was designated due to its status as a “state sponsor of terrorism.”

Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council, said: “The impact of the ban will once again be felt by Americans who were denied the ability to see their loved ones at weddings, funerals, or the birth of a child.”

For most countries on the list, the administration cited a high probability that visitors would overstay their visas.