World Bank trains 388 officials to align health, education budgets

The World Bank-assisted HOPE Governance Programme has trained 388 government officials from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory to strengthen public financial management and ensure that budgetary allocations to basic education and primary healthcare reflect actual development priorities.

The training, which focused on aligning states’ Annual Operational Plans for Primary Healthcare and Annual Consolidated Workplans for Basic Education with their respective budgets, comes as state governments prepare their 2027 fiscal proposals.

The programme is also designed to address gaps in planning, costing and budget implementation, particularly the disconnect between government spending and the delivery of essential services to citizens.

A statement issued by the Communications Officer of the HOPE Governance Programme, Joe Mutah, on Monday, said the month-long capacity-building workshop was aimed at improving the practical application of the National Chart of Accounts and programme-based budgeting in the two critical sectors.

The statement read, “The World Bank-assisted HOPE Governance Program has trained 388 officials from the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory to strengthen the capacity of state institutions to align their Annual Operational Plans for Primary Healthcare and Annual Consolidated Workplans for Basic Education with their respective budgets.

“The month-long capacity-building workshop was also to enhance the practical application of the National Chart of Accounts and programme-based budgeting in the Basic Education and Primary Health Care Sectors.”

The training also supported participating states in prioritising project costs, mapping and geo-tagging projects, and reconciling sectoral workplans with available budget ceilings.

It further identified and addressed state-specific planning and budgeting gaps through practical exercises involving actual government documents. The four-batch workshop, which began last month, is expected to conclude on Wednesday, November 4, 2026.

Speaking in Abuja on Monday, the National Coordinator of the programme, Assad Hassan, said the timing of the training was deliberate to ensure that the ongoing preparation of the 2027 state budgets incorporated the required budgetary standards.

He explained that the exercise was particularly important to achieving the programme’s Disbursement-Linked Indicator 2, which requires states to align their budgets with the National Chart of Accounts.

Hassan said, “This workshop is designed to strengthen the capacity of State institutions to align their Annual Operational Plans for Primary Healthcare and Annual Consolidated Workplans for Basic Education with their respective budgets.

“Achieving the objectives of DLI 2 requires a coordinated, multisectoral approach. This is why the composition of participants in this room is deliberate, bringing together key institutions and stakeholders from the Budget, Primary Healthcare and Basic Education sectors. Effective collaboration among these institutions is essential to ensuring that planning, budgeting and implementation are properly aligned.”

He stressed that government budgets should be driven by development priorities and measurable outcomes rather than being treated merely as documents for allocating expenditure.

According to him, planning must determine budgetary allocations, while the resulting expenditure must translate into improved public services.

“A good plan without a budget is an aspiration; a budget without a plan is an invitation to inefficiency,” Hassan stated.

He said the programme was working to ensure that state governments properly cost their priorities, provide adequate funding and translate allocations into tangible benefits for residents.

“Every naira allocated should be linked to a clearly defined priority, and every priority should be supported by a realistic and actionable implementation plan,” he added.

The workshop brought together senior officials responsible for budget preparation, basic education and primary healthcare across the states and the FCT.

They included permanent secretaries of budget and planning ministries, executive chairmen of State Universal Basic Education Boards, executive secretaries of State Primary Healthcare Development Agencies, state directors of budget and desk officers of the Sector-Wide Approach Coordination Office.

Also participating were HOPE Governance Programme focal persons from the states and the FCT, as well as officials of the FCT Health and Environment Secretariat.

In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Deborah Odoh, said the participation of senior state officials was necessary to ensure that the technical knowledge acquired during the workshop translated into institutional decisions.

She said the involvement of policymakers and senior administrators would strengthen the adoption of improved budgeting practices and ensure that reforms were reflected in government spending and implementation.

Odoh reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment, through the programme, to working with state governments and the World Bank to strengthen public financial management systems and improve the delivery of essential services.

Also speaking, the World Bank Task Team Lead for the programme, Mr Ikechukwu Nweje, said participating states stood to receive significant incentives upon achieving Disbursement-Linked Indicator 2.

He reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to supporting state governments in implementing governance reforms that would improve service delivery in basic education and primary healthcare.

The HOPE Governance Programme is a $500m World Bank-assisted initiative domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.

It was established to address governance, financing, transparency and accountability challenges affecting the delivery of basic education and primary healthcare services across the country.