Nigeria and the Impact of the International

¶ … Nigeria and the impact of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, and the impacts of those institutions in the country. The IMF is "an organization of 188 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty" (IMF, 2013). The IMF works primarily with governments and financial institutions, including with central banks. The IMF has also become involved in cutting fuel subsidies, which then increases the price of fuel in the economy. This is intended as a measure to stop smuggling and bring market forces to bear but it also reduces the ability of many to get out of poverty as more of their budgets will be spent on fuel (Engdahl, 2012). The IMF has also become involved in guiding fiscal and monetary policy in many nations, Nigeria included. For example, it has recently warned the Nigerian government to adjust its budgets to account for a decline in oil industry revenues, noting that these declining revenues were likely to create greater difficult in reducing poverty (Ugwumadu, 2013). The IMF also makes assessments of economic infrastructure in order to provide better advice (UPI, 2013).

The World Bank plays a more direct role in health care. Its mandate is to "end extreme poverty within a generation and boost shared prosperity" (World Bank, 2013). The World Bank provides financial and technical assistance to countries around the world. It provides low-interest loans, knowledge sharing and grants to developing countries (World Bank, 2013). The World Bank is involved in a number of projects in Nigeria, including infrastructure projects to improve agriculture, minimize the impacts of climate change and improve health care. One of the health care projects is to improve health care financing, a strategy that the Bank claims has improved family health outcomes in the three states in which it has been implemented.

Outcomes

It is not easy to determine what the impact of the IMF and World Bank in Nigeria is. The World Bank's infrastructure projects do seem like they should be useful, but there is cause to question that. For example, the World Bank tinkers with health care financing when the problem is that many Nigerians cannot afford health care. Increasing the supply is fine but one must wonder what the point is if increasing the ability of Nigerians to pay does not improve. Access to health care is not something that is likely to be improved through changes to the financing, however, the World Bank wants to spin its efforts.

The IMF has been heavily criticized for its work. For example, its policies tend to benefit more the major oil companies that operate in Nigeria. While there is a rational case to be made for eliminating fuel subsidies, those subsidies help to provide economic opportunity for many Nigerians. The government is essentially embarking on a program that spurs consumption, and without the subsidies economic output will fall in the short run.

Furthermore, there does not appear to be any coherent, coordinated strategy. While there are indeed many problems in Nigeria, the plan to deal with these seems entirely ad hoc, and this is simply not going to be effective. There is no pattern of projects and policies that, in conjunction with the efforts of the Nigerian government will have a payoff. The efforts individually might have some positive impact, but there does not appear to be a coordinated strategy.

Healthy Population

A healthy population strengthens the economy in several ways. First, a healthy population is capable of doing more work. Second, the families of unhealthy people must often sacrifice work to care for them, something that reduces economic output. Third, the healthier the population the less of the economy's resources will need to be directed to health care. The result is more money can be directed to other projects, such as much-needed infrastructure investment. Fourth, improving health care outcomes correlates to improving the rights of women and children, things that help an economy to maximum productivity. Thus, it is important that there be strong, coordinated efforts to boost the economy by improving the state of health care in a country like Nigeria.

Leadership