Verified Document

Lending Institutions Health Care And Human Capital Term Paper

Nigeria: Economic and Human Health Lending Institutions, Healthcare, and Human Capital

Nigeria is the largest country in Africa and is home to 47% of the continent's population (World Bank, 2013). Nigeria is the largest oil exporter and holds the most natural gas reserves of any African country. According to the World Bank, these human and natural resources gives Nigeria the necessary ingredients for becoming one of the more prosperous nations in Africa and globally. Fueled primarily by oil exports, the Nigerian economy seems to be meeting this expectation by growing an average of 7.6% between 2003 and 2010; however, a recent softening of the oil market, which represents 75% of state revenues, has restricted the ability of the government to stabilize economic growth. Yet, foreign debt represents only 3% of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP).

Despite the apparent success of Nigeria's economy the levels of poverty and unemployment remain high (World Bank, 2013). For example, an estimated 50 million youth are underemployed in a country of 158 million people (World Bank, 2013) and child labor, including slave labor, is not uncommon (Kim, Muntaner, Chung, Benach, and EMCONET Network, 2010). Nigerian leaders have invested in infrastructure, improved agricultural productivity, and are creating more relevant post-secondary training and educational opportunities (World Bank, 2013). The World Bank, however, views the decentralized form of governance in the country, along with the diverse ethnic, cultural, and religious communities, as a significant barrier to improving the quality of the labor market. In Nigeria, there are 36 states and 774 local governments enjoying a large measure of official autonomy. These state and local governments are also responsible for spending 50% of federal revenues and delivering most public services.

Nigeria's relatively low external indebtedness is a recent...

Parts of this document are hidden

View Full Document
svg-one

Beginning in 1978 the country was encouraged to borrow large amounts from private lenders in what could be viewed as international predatory lending. By 1982 Nigeria's external debts represented 160% of the GDP. The servicing of this external debt has been characterized as a "… self-perpetuating mechanism of poverty aggravation, work overexploitation, and a constraint on [economic] development" (p. 286). The overall effect of this borrowing frenzy was an increase in unemployment and underfunding of public programs like education and healthcare services. One recommendation was privatization of some government programs, eliminating export duties, restructuring financial markets, and asking for debt relief from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Edo, 2002).
Adegbite and colleagues (2008) examined the impact of debt forgiveness granted to Nigeria in 2006 by the Paris Club and found that the historically high levels of external indebtedness had discouraged investment by foreign firms, suppressed economic growth, degraded social and economic infrastructures, and increased poverty and inequality. The authors concluded that there is a tipping point where external borrowing no longer provides a benefit to social and economic programs and instead begins to corrode these efforts. The debt forgiveness by the Paris Club, according to the authors, appears to have allowed Nigeria to transition back to the positive side of this tipping point.

With close to 80% of Nigeria's external debt owed to multilateral banks like the World Bank and African Development Bank, along with bilateral sources like China and France (Amaefule, 2013), Nigeria appears to have ended the practice of borrowing from predatory private international lenders. The biggest concern currently, according to Director General Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, is the…

Sources used in this document:
References

Adegbite, Esther O., Ayadi, Folorunso S., and Ayadi, O. Felix. (2008). The impact of Nigeria's external debt on economic development. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 3(3), 285-301.

Amaefule, Everest. (2013, Jul. 22). Nigeria's debt rises to N7.93tn. Punch. Retrieved 3 Nov. 2013 from http://www.punchng.com/news/nigerias-debt-rises-to-n7-93tn/.

Edo, Samson E. (2002). The external debt problem in Africa: A comparative study of Nigeria and Morocco. African Development Review, 14(2), 221-236.

Kim, Il-Ho, Muntaner, Carles, Chung, Haejoo, Benach, Joan, and EMCONET Network. (2010). Case studies on employment-related health inequalities in countries representing different types of labor markets. International Journal of Health Services, 40(2), 255-267.
World Bank. (2013). Nigeria overview. WorldBank.com. Retrieved 3 Nov. 2013 from http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nigeria/overview.
World Bank Group, Africa Region Human Development, Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, and Canadian International Development Agency. (2008). Nigeria: Improving Primary Health Care Delivery. Report No. 44041-NG. World Bank. Retrieved 3 Nov. 2013 from http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2009/05/25/000333038_20090525035408/Rendered/PDF/440410ESW0NG0P1C0Disclosed051211091.pdf.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Country Evaluation
Words: 2038 Length: 7 Document Type: Research Paper

Country Evaluation Pakistan is the South Asian country and was established in 1947. It shares border with India, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Iran and China. It has a coastline spanning of 1,046 km with Arabian Sea. The country has highest peaks in the world that are K2 and Nanga Parbat of Karakorum and Pamir in the northern and western highlands of Pakistan. Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi provide the major by air gateways to

Country Economic Analysis Report When
Words: 890 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

1% and agriculture 6.0%. ("Jamaica," 2010) The U.S. is more heavily focused on services, with this accounting for 76.9% of the GDP. This is followed by: industry (coming in at 21.9%) and agriculture (accounting for 1.2%). ("United States," 2010) Labor Force The labor force of Jamaica is currently 1.311 million people. ("Jamaica," 2010) While the labor force of the United States is 154.2 million. ("United States," 2010) Labor Force by Occupation The labor force

Countries With High Adult and Child Mortality
Words: 1786 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Countries With High Adult and Child Mortality Rates (ghana) Countries with high adult and child mortality rates The republic of Ghana is a presidential unitary constitutional republic and a sovereign state located on the Atlantic Ocean and on Gulf of Guinea. The country is in the frontier of the sub-Saharan Africa. Akan Kingdoms inhabited Ghana in the middle ages. These kingdoms were Akwamu, Ashanti, Bonoman and the Denkyira. There is archeological evidence

Country of Origin Effect on
Words: 6167 Length: 20 Document Type: Literature Review

With this in mind communications strategy has to be developed and implemented. The central debate remains that of degree of uniformity. The pros and cons are obvious, i.e. economies of scale, consistent message across markets, centralized control, different market characteristics, media availability and costs and government regulations (Balabanis & Diamantopoulos, 2011). The stronger argument appears to be that different strategy appears to work in different situations, rather than a

Country Report: Bulgaria Country Report:
Words: 2047 Length: 7 Document Type: Essay

Also very important index for investors is total tax on profit which is 4.6 in Bulgaria as compared to 9.8 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia saving a lot of money to be recycled into business again. (Simeon Djankov 2010) 5) Across the Border Trade According to Doing Business Bulgaria ranked 109 in across the border trade in 2010 and 109 in 2011. The index for clearance for export goods is

Country Assessment of Cuba Brief
Words: 1852 Length: 7 Document Type: Research Paper

Since late 2000, Venezuela has been providing oil on preferential terms, and it currently supplies about 100,000 barrels per day of petroleum products. Cuba has been paying for the oil, in part, with the services of Cuban personnel in Venezuela including some 30,000 medical professionals" (Central Intelligence Agency, 2010). Relevant numeric information: The income per capita for the average Cuban individual is of $9.700 The GDP composition by sector is of: 4.3

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now