Nigeria
Total IDRC Support
219 activities worth CAD82.2 million since 1972
Our support is helping
- promote tobacco control laws and policies
- increase food security and empower resource-poor rural women farmers
- revitalize the health care system to deliver effective, efficient, and equitable primary health care in two states
- enhance the abilities of Nigerian think tanks to conduct research and influence policy
Nigeria has earned a reputation for training some of the best researchers in Africa — despite periods of repressive military rule. Since the country’s return to democracy in 1998, our support has focused on improving Nigeria’s health system and developing sound national economic and environmental policies.
Health care and anti-poverty programs
Our support has allowed researchers and professionals in many African countries, including Nigeria, to access essential medical information. An online information network, HealthNet, brings valuable medical information to the most remote areas by satellite. This service allows professionals to offer an improved level of service to their patients.
We also fund effective and influential economic research in Nigeria. For example, the IDRC-supported Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research provides policymakers with data on the impacts of public policies on households and small businesses. This research forms the basis for anti-poverty programs.
Better harvests
Our support for researchers has yielded advances in agriculture. For example, researchers have encouraged the widespread use of soy, a healthy legume. Nigeria is now one of the major soy producers in Africa.
Research conducted in southwestern Nigeria on agroforestry allowed farmers to combine tree planting with food crops. This helps combat the negative impact of deforestation, while increasing soil fertility and giving poor rural villages extra income.