Ahead of the United Nations’ (UN) fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) slated for June 30 in Spain, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have called for bold global actions and urgent domestic reforms to address the persistent financing challenges facing the Global South.
The call was contained in a statement report titled “Financing for Development in Nigeria: Sectoral Context and Insights for the Fourth International Conference”- an advocacy position paper.
The paper was developed by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), in partnership with Oxfam in Nigeria, Christian Aid, International Budget Partnership, Tax Justice & Governance Platform, Connected Development and other key partners under the Africa Agenda on Financing for Development (Agenda Afrique).
The report presented a sobering analysis of Nigeria’s development trajectory, warning that “Nigeria faces a multidimensional financing gap, driven by underperforming domestic resource mobilization, inequitable global financial rules, and increasing vulnerability to climate change.”
It noted that critical sectors like education, health, agriculture, and climate resilience remain chronically underfunded. “Education spending falls below UNESCO benchmarks, health expenditure remains under 4% of GDP, and the country loses over $18 billion annually to illicit financial flows.
“Meanwhile, Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio has now exceeded 70 percent, leaving little room for investment in people,” it stated.
The report also emphasised that while international frameworks such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063, ECOWAS Vision 2050, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer a shared vision for progress, the real struggle lies in resource mobilisation.
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“The issue is not a lack of frameworks, but rather a lack of effective implementation due to several core problems,” the report added.
According to the report, most Nigerian states lacked measurable development blueprints, making it difficult to track progress or attract meaningful investments. “Without decisive and deliberate efforts to bridge these financing gaps at both national and sub-national levels, Nigeria will continue to fall behind,” the document warned.
Nigeria will use the platform of the FfD4 to call for major reforms in the international financial architecture. The country is advocating for changes to global tax rules, easier access to climate finance, and new concessional financing frameworks that reflect the needs of countries with large populations living in poverty.
“We urge the international community to prioritise loss and damage financing, equitable access to green investments, and reform of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to better support middle-income countries carrying high poverty burdens,” the report added.
On the domestic front, the report outlined a range of policy proposals to enhance Nigeria’s financial capacity. These include adopting digital tax systems for fair taxation; simplifying trade processes to drive industrialization; launching anti-corruption and asset recovery campaigns, and establishing development finance facilities to de-risk private investment in infrastructure and social services.
The report drew urgent attention to Nigeria’s worsening brain drain crisis, noting that the “continued migration of Nigeria’s skilled workforce, especially young professionals, is directly linked to the lack of inclusive economic opportunities at home. If we fail to invest in youth-centred policies and job creation, our best minds will continue to seek prosperity elsewhere.”