USAID: ‘We May Be A Poor Country, But We Are A Capable Country’ – FG

The Federal Government has said there was not much worry concerning the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding cut by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Naija News reported that United States Republican lawmaker, Scott Perry alleged that USAID funds were used to arm Boko Haram terrorist organizations.

President Trump has also announced the suspension of USAID activities across the world, citing financial mismanagement.

In an interview on Channels TV’s  Hard Copy programme on Friday, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, said the government had put measures in place to ensure the funding cut did not affect setting segment of the citizens who have benefitted from US health programmes.

His words: “For us, we are not complaining. We are full of appreciation to the U.S. government for the contribution they have made. The American people have contributed in taking care of more than 1.3 million Nigerians on antiretroviral therapies, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health conditions.

“The change in U.S. government policy is the change of U.S. government policy. That is the determination of the American people. We can’t complain. What we have determined is that we are primarily responsible for the health of our population. And we are going to work towards exiting the dependency on external assistance, particularly in view of the transition that the U.S. government has made.

“While appreciating what the U.S. has done, we know that there may be other ways that the partnership between Nigeria and the U.S. government will continue. We spent time to analyze the quantum and the support that has been provided outside government and to do a bottom-up costing if we are to take that as the public sector. And we now have completed that assessment of what it will take for HIV, for tuberculosis and for malaria.

“And as you recall, at the Federal Executive Council, the President set up a committee, a cabinet committee, Minister of Finance, Budget, myself, Minister of State for Defense, the Governor’s Forum, to think of that transition, as a responsible government, we own this problem. It’s our population. And we have determined a quantum of resource, and we will identify where to source that so that we buy the commodities and buy them in such a way that we encourage those who are producing them to come and produce in Nigeria as well, because that is sustainable in the long run.

“To look at the supply chain, how do we manage it in our own context? And when we look at it with a lot less than the total quantum of the U.S. government contribution, we can be able to at least support our population. We may be a poor country, but we are a capable country.”