UK Commits £19m To Climate-resilient Schools and Health Facilities In Northern Nigeria
The United Kingdom has pledged £19 million to strengthen health and education infrastructure in Nigeria against the growing impacts of climate change.
The announcement came as the UK Government, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Governments of Kano and Jigawa States, and UNICEF jointly inaugurated 84 climate-resilient schools and healthcare centres under the Climate Resilient Infrastructure for Basic Services (CRIBS) initiative.
Nigeria is ranked the second most vulnerable country globally to climate risks facing children, with floods, droughts, and heatwaves disrupting lives and services each year. CRIBS seeks to change that by reinforcing frontline facilities.
So far, 39 primary healthcare centres and 45 schools in Kano and Jigawa have been upgraded with low-cost, community-owned climate adaptation measures.
Speaking at the commissioning, Cynthia Rowe, Head of Development Cooperation at the British High Commission Abuja, said the UK was proud to support a project that “demonstrates how climate-resilient infrastructure can improve access to basic services for vulnerable populations.”
UNICEF’s Nigeria Representative, Wafaa Saeed, hailed the programme as a model of strong partnerships. “By investing in climate-smart infrastructure, we are not only protecting services but also empowering communities to safeguard their children’s future,” she said.
Launched in April 2024, CRIBS is expanding beyond Kano and Jigawa to Bauchi, Enugu, Gombe, Kaduna and Katsina states, offering a scalable model for climate adaptation in vulnerable communities across Nigeria.
