With less than four years remaining to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Federal Government and the United Nations have warned that Nigeria cannot attain the ambitious targets through public funding alone, urging the mobilisation of private capital and innovative financing to bridge a widening development funding gap.
The call was made on Monday at the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) Joint Steering Committee Meeting in Abuja, where senior government officials, United Nations agencies, development partners, labour representatives, civil society organisations and private sector stakeholders reviewed progress on the SDGs and outlined strategies to accelerate implementation.
Participants expressed concern that shrinking public revenues, rising humanitarian demands, climate-related disasters and persistent poverty could undermine Nigeria’s efforts to eradicate extreme poverty, improve healthcare and education, and build resilient communities before the 2030 deadline.
United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall, described the period as a defining moment that requires stronger partnerships, policy coordination and alternative financing models capable of attracting large-scale private investment.
He said the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2023–2027) remains the strategic platform guiding collaboration between the UN and Nigeria in implementing the SDGs, the National Development Plan and President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“The framework is anchored on four interconnected pillars—people, prosperity, peace and planet. Prosperity cannot happen without peace, and peace cannot endure without development. Opportunities must be accessible to all, while protecting vulnerable populations and the environment remains essential,” Fall said.
Highlighting progress achieved under the partnership, Fall disclosed that more than two million vulnerable Nigerians received humanitarian support, including cash transfers during lean seasons, while about 2.6 million people benefited from disaster risk reduction programmes designed to strengthen resilience against emergencies and climate shocks.
He added that nearly one million children suffering from severe acute malnutrition received life-saving treatment in 2025, with recovery rates approaching 90 per cent.
According to him, approximately 40 million children benefited from Vitamin A supplementation, while regional preparedness plans were strengthened to improve responses to Ebola and Mpox outbreaks.
Fall further revealed that about 190 million children were reached through polio vaccination campaigns, describing the Presidential Declaration on National Health Insurance as a landmark step towards expanding healthcare coverage and ensuring sustainable financing for vulnerable populations.
In the education sector, he said school-based interventions reached 6.8 million children across 18 states, while more than 66,000 out-of-school children were successfully reintegrated into classrooms.
He also disclosed that over nine million Nigerians gained access to improved water, sanitation and hygiene services, with an additional 4.2 million benefiting from programmes promoting healthier and safer communities.
Despite the progress, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, cautioned that government resources alone would be insufficient to finance the SDGs.
“The reality is that the Sustainable Development Goals require more resources than governments alone can provide. We must unlock private capital and mobilise innovative financing mechanisms that can support development at scale,” Bagudu said.
He noted that ongoing macroeconomic reforms had freed resources previously tied to inefficient subsidy regimes, creating additional fiscal space for investments in healthcare, education and social protection.
Bagudu stressed that lasting poverty reduction would depend on expanding access to finance, skills development and economic opportunities.
“There is no reason why hardworking Nigerians should remain poor if they have access to the right skills, financing and opportunities. Together with development partners, we can create the scale required to transform livelihoods and communities,” he added.
Also speaking, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard Doro, said the Federal Government had strengthened coordination of poverty reduction initiatives through the One Humanitarian, One Poverty Response System (OHOPRS), a national platform designed to harmonise humanitarian interventions, social protection programmes and poverty alleviation efforts across all levels of government and development partners.
He also highlighted the National Poverty Intelligence Lab, which provides real-time multidimensional poverty data to support evidence-based policymaking and improve the targeting of interventions.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda and the 2030 Agenda share the same vision—ending poverty, expanding access to healthcare and education, strengthening food security, empowering women and youth, and building resilient communities,” Doro said.
Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, called for stronger institutional coordination, improved project preparation and innovative financing mechanisms to close Nigeria’s growing development financing gap.
She also urged the media to sustain public awareness of SDG implementation efforts and strengthen accountability in the execution of development programmes.
Adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals seek to eradicate poverty and hunger, improve health and education, promote gender equality, tackle climate change and foster inclusive economic growth by 2030.
Although Nigeria has mainstreamed the SDGs into its National Development Plan and the Renewed Hope Agenda, implementation has continued to face challenges arising from inadequate funding, insecurity, inflation, climate-related disasters and rising humanitarian needs.
As the countdown to 2030 enters its final phase, policymakers are increasingly looking to blended finance, private-sector investment and other innovative funding mechanisms to close the multi-billion-dollar financing gap considered critical to achieving the global development agenda.
