During the Nutrivision 2024 Pan-African youth dialogue on nutrition in Abuja, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, highlighted the challenges posed by Nigeria’s low tax collection rates in financing essential sectors such as health and education.
Gates made these comments while addressing a question regarding potential financing strategies for large-scale public health initiatives, as reported by The Cable.
According to Bill Gates, there are plans for Nigeria to increase its tax collection over time to fund government initiatives.
Currently, tax collection in Nigeria is relatively low.
“If citizens want the education and the health things, as they develop the confidence that these programmes can be very well run, and our foundation is involved with a lot of the exemplars that are showing the way in terms of making sure the money is spent really well, running a very efficient primary health care system where the employees are doing great work, the centres are where they should be, you don’t have underloaded centres or overloaded centres,” the billionaire said
However, as citizens develop confidence in the government’s ability to effectively manage programs, they will be more willing to fund them.
Bill Gates is optimistic about Nigeria’s potential to dramatically increase its agricultural production, transforming it from a net food importer to a major food exporter.
He identified three key factors to achieve this transformation: improved credit facilities, comprehensive soil surveys, and effective advisory services for farmers.
Gates emphasized that with these elements in place, Nigeria can more than double its food output, becoming a net food exporter, which would have a profound impact on the country’s economy and food security.
“By increasing agricultural production, Nigeria can generate revenue and earn dollars, rather than relying on scarce foreign exchange to import food.”
This, according to Bill Gates, would have a transformative impact on the economy.
He emphasized that boosting agricultural productivity, especially in rural and northern areas, is vital for improving income levels and driving economic growth.
