AGS NEWS – The Nigerian government has secured a $600,000 relief fund from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support flood victims and reforms in the health and agricultural sectors.

The announcement was made during a meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and Dr. Christopher Elias, head of the Gates Foundation’s Global Development Programme, at the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The donation aims to accelerate relief efforts for flood victims and support initiatives in Borno State. An additional $5 million grant has been approved for the Lagos Business School and partners to develop the agricultural economics of industrial cassava.

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Vice President Shettima reaffirmed the government’s commitment to addressing health, nutrition, and agriculture challenges, particularly malnutrition, and emphasized the importance of food security and industrial agricultural development.

Dr. Elias expressed the Foundation’s concern over severe flooding in Borno and pledged continued support for Nigeria’s health sector, particularly in combating polio.

The Foundation also outlined plans to scale up drought-tolerant maize production and further develop the Nigeria Cassava Investment Accelerator programme.