Debt payments exceed health, education spending five times – Report

Nigeria is allocating a disproportionately large share of its national revenue to servicing external debts, far exceeding combined spending on crucial sectors like health and education, a new report reveals. ActionAid International and ActionAid Nigeria found that the country spends nearly five times more on debt payments than on these social services.

The report, titled “Still Cooking with a Failed Recipe: A Review of IMF Country Advice on Social Spending, Public Services, Debt, Tax and Gender Equality,” examined IMF documents across 11 countries, including Nigeria, between February 2022 and February 2025. It accuses the International Monetary Fund of promoting policies that have negatively impacted social spending and exacerbated economic difficulties for citizens.

According to the findings, Nigeria dedicates 20.1 percent of its national revenue to external debt servicing. In contrast, spending on health accounts for 4.06 percent, and education receives 4.40 percent. The report highlights a stark trend across African nations studied, where debt burdens significantly impede the expansion of social spending and public services, with debt servicing exceeding health spending in seven out of eight African countries examined.

ActionAid further criticized the IMF for failing to adequately connect debt servicing obligations with their implications for health and education funding. The report notes that debt repayment is often treated as an unavoidable reality, with resources for social services expected to be allocated only after creditors are paid. The report also points out that despite the IMF's public commitments to social spending and gender equality, its policy advice to Nigeria has remained largely unchanged, even acknowledging that compensatory measures for the poor following fuel subsidy removal were inadequate.