Prior to USAID's exit from the Nigerian development and humanitarian programming space in January 2025, the Mission was the country's largest international development funder, outstripping all other bilaterals including the European Union. USAID had classified Nigeria as “the single most important strategic partner for the United States in Africa,” according to a 2023 State Department document.
USAID's annual official assistance to Nigeria grew from $90 million in 2002 to $942,178,693 in 2024. Between 2015 and 2024, health and humanitarian assistance were the main recipients. USAID obligated $2.54 billion to Nigeria's humanitarian sector from 2020 to 2024 and over $2.8 billion to the health sector to combat HIV/AIDS (via PEPFAR), malaria, and tuberculosis. In education, $75 million was obligated between 2014 and 2017. From 2002 to 2024, education support hovered below $50 million per annum, increasing significantly in 2023.
As early as 2020, the USAID Nigeria Mission began rolling out a localization policy to support local Nigerian civil society organizations. Before the January 2025 closeout, the Mission set a target of allocating 25% of its funding directly to local organizations and shifting 50% of programming control to local actors by 2030.
Post-USAID Funding Landscape
With USAID's exit, development analysts have studied the impact on Nigeria's development and humanitarian programming. The MacArthur Foundation leads high-level dialogues on CSO resilience, while The Aid Report, an initiative of Devex funded by the Gates Foundation, documents gaps and losses. On June 9, European Union think tanks hosted a webinar on “The Dangerous Gap: The Impact of Global Neglect of Women's Health” with insights from Nigeria.
Two new funding opportunities emerged: Levers for Change and the Project Resource Optimisation (PRO) fund. Levers for Change launched a global call for applications in 2024 called Action for Women's Health with a $250,000 investment from Pivotal, founded by Melinda French Gates. PRO used a matchmaking approach to link programs losing USAID funding with private donors. Levers focused on maternal health, while PRO aimed to fund cost-effective health and humanitarian programs that lost U.S. funding.
Grants Awarded: No Nigerian CSOs Selected
On November 12, 2025, Levers announced 83 awardees, including eight organizations programming in women's health in Nigeria: Lifebox, MMV Medicines for Malaria Venture, GEANCO Foundation, Direct Relief, We Care Solar, International Rescue Committee, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and Tiko (Triggerise South Africa NPC). All grantees were global organizations; none were Nigerian CSOs. Winning grants were multi-country, averaging eight countries. CHAI covered 16 countries, Direct Relief 15, and only GEANCO Foundation focused solely on Nigeria.
PRO, with a rolling grant mechanism, awarded $25,070,778 for humanitarian programming between 2025 and 2026. All grantees were global; no Nigerian CSO received grants, and the PRO grant review process did not appear to require partnering with local organizations.
PRO Grants for Humanitarian Work in Nigeria 2025-2026
Action Against Hunger (ACF): $6,550,000
Helen Keller International: $4,500,000
JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc: $3,465,000
Kybele Worldwide: $3,200,000
Maisha Meds: $3,000,000
Mercy Corps: $1,988,663
Dimagi, Inc: $1,500,000
Save the Children Federation, Inc.: $867,115
Total: $25,070,778
Source: Urgent & Vetted List v4 – Airtable
Implications for Nigerian NGOs
The results point to a new reality where multi-country coverage is inversely related to localization, and risk aversion in grant making may lead to safe but not necessarily impactful bets. Despite these missed opportunities, some partners like the Norwegian Refugee Council and the EU CSO-BRIDGE project implemented by International IDEAS continue to support localization and local CSO capacity strengthening. Development partners such as Ford, MacArthur Foundation, and OSF are pooling resources to position local CSOs for resilience in the post-USAID world.
Judith-Ann Walker is Executive Director of development Research and Projects Center (dRPC).
