HOPE-GOV Programme targets lasting reforms in Nigeria’s health and education sectors by linking funding to measurable results and accountability

The Federal Government has said the HOPE-GOV Programme is structured to deliver far-reaching reforms in budgeting and expenditure management across Nigeria’s primary healthcare and basic education sectors, rather than offering direct financial handouts.

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Speaking in Abuja on Friday, the National Coordinator of the HOPE-GOV Programme, Assad Hassan, said the World Bank-assisted initiative prioritises institutional reforms, with incentives strictly tied to measurable results achieved by implementing agencies, including state governments.

Hassan spoke during an implementation coordination visit by the National Programme Coordination Unit of the HOPE-GOV Programme to the Ministerial Oversight Committee Secretariat of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.

According to him, the HOPE-GOV Programme is designed to transform systems and processes that underpin service delivery, particularly in the health sector.

“For us, it is not just about dishing out the money, but if you look at the scope of the programme, it is talking about reforms,” Hassan said.

He added that beyond incentives, the health sector would benefit significantly from the structural improvements the programme seeks to achieve.

A statement issued on Saturday by the programme’s Communications Officer, Joe Mutah, said the visit was part of ongoing efforts to strengthen coordination, provide implementation support and ensure agencies meet the Disbursement-Linked Indicators and Disbursement-Linked Results required to access funding.

Hassan explained that the engagement covered key implementing institutions at both federal and state levels, including state governments, the Basic Health Care Provision Fund Ministerial Oversight Committee Secretariat and the Universal Basic Education Commission.

“This is something we usually do for all our implementing agencies. From time to time, we engage so that we can provide support and ensure they are able to achieve their results,” he said, stressing that it was the vision of the National Programme Coordination Unit for all agencies to qualify for the available incentives under the HOPE-GOV Programme.

He disclosed that the first coordination meeting with State HOPE-GOV Focal Persons would hold on Monday, aimed at strengthening implementation and improving alignment across participating states.

Hassan also revealed that the programme was evaluating Independent Verification Agents who would assess the performance of implementing agencies in the first year of reform implementation, ahead of incentive disbursements.

In a presentation, HOPE-GOV Programme Officer, Jamil Abdallah, described the initiative as a 500 million dollar Programme-for-Results package, with disbursements strictly linked to agreed outcomes.

He said 480 million dollars of the funding would be disbursed directly to implementing agencies and states, while 20 million dollars would support programme coordination, fiduciary management, capacity building, technical assistance, verification of results and monitoring and evaluation.

Abdallah noted that the programme’s results areas include improved financing for basic education and primary healthcare, enhanced transparency and accountability, and better recruitment, deployment and performance management of teachers and primary healthcare workers.

He emphasised that agencies must publish audited financial statements compliant with International Public Sector Accounting Standards on their official websites within stipulated timelines as a condition for disbursement under the HOPE-GOV Programme.

“All 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory have signed on to participate,” Abdallah added.

In her remarks, the Acting Secretary of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund Secretariat, Dr Aishatu Abubakar Bajoga, pledged the agency’s full commitment to the programme’s objectives.

“We are ready to work together. This is a work in progress from now on,” she said.

A major highlight of the visit was an interactive session between officials of the HOPE-GOV National Programme Coordinating Unit and the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, led by its outgoing Secretary, Dr Ogbe Oritseweyimi. Both sides reviewed strategies for meeting the Fund’s Disbursement-Linked Indicators.

The HOPE-GOV Programme forms part of the Federal Government’s broader push to strengthen human capital development by improving governance, accountability and service delivery in critical social sectors.

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By linking funding to results rather than inputs, the programme aims to tackle long-standing inefficiencies in public spending on healthcare and education, particularly at sub-national levels, while reinforcing ongoing reforms under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund and the Universal Basic Education framework.