Nigeria's presidency said on
Tuesday the World Bank had pledged to spend up
to US$2.1 billion (S$2.8 billion) to rebuild the north-
east of the country that has been devastated by
Boko Haram militants. President Muhammadu Buhari met with
representatives of the World Bank, the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation, and the World Health
Organisation during a trip to Washington. A World Bank spokeswoman said that during the
meeting, the bank said the sum of US$2.1 billion
could be lent to Nigeria from its development
agency and that support could also come from the
International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development. "Apart from rebuilding the region in terms of
infrastructure, priority must also be given to the
resettlement of internally displaced persons, who
now number over one million," Buhari was quoted
as saying in government statement. The loan would be spent through the World Bank's
International Development Agency and would be
interest-free for the first 10 years. The statement said the World Health Organisation
would spend US$300 million on immunisation
against malaria, while the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation would work with Nigeria's Dangote
Foundation to maintain the record of zero polio
cases for the past year. Buhari met US President Barack Obama on Monday
to discuss how to tackle the insurgency in his first
visit to Washington since his election in March. The Islamist Boko Haram has been waging a six-
year-old insurgency with the aim of carving out a
caliphate in the north of Nigeria, Africa's biggest
economy.


www.straitstimes.com/world/africa/world-bank-to-spend-up-to-28-billion-to-rebuild-nigerias-north-east


Cc: lalasticlala