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Nigeria: A Country Overview 201

with three outcome goals: equity, commercial viability, and sustainable public
health impact.
NetMark established a regional office in Johannesburg, South Africa, where
many of the multinational insecticide and advertising companies had their sub-
Saharan headquarters. The regional office established, supported, and supervised
the country programs with backstopping from AED headquarters in Washington,
DC. NetMark started as a $15.2 million project scheduled to run from September
1999 through September 2004. Its mandate was later expanded and the end date ex-
tended to September 2007 and then to September 2009, with its budget ceiling in-
creased to $65.2 million. Country programs started based on USAID country
missions “buying into” NetMark by providing funding. NetMark eventually worked
in seven countries: Zambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Uganda, and Ethiopia.
Nigeria is presented here as a case study, not because it was NetMark’s most
successful country program, but because of the many challenges that were navi-
gated, the variety of issues that were addressed, and the wide range of activities cre-
ated to respond to changes in the country situation. NetMark started with a
process and a plan and then found it had to adapt that plan periodically so it could
move forward and achieve its goals.

N I G E R IA: A C O U NTRY OVE RVI EW

With an estimated population in 2008 of 146,255,000, Nigeria is the most popu-
lous country in Africa, comprising 18% of the total population of sub-Saharan
Africa. The median age is 19 years, and life expectancy is under 46 years. Nigeria is
a multiethnic and multilingual society. It has more than 250 ethnic groups, with
the largest and most influential being the Hausa and Fulani (29%), Yoruba (21%),
Igbo (18%), and Ijaw (10%). Half the population is Muslim, while 40% are
Christians and 10% follow indigenous beliefs. The main languages are English (of-
ficial), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and Fulani (Central Intelligence Agency [CIA], 2008).
There is ongoing tension between the largely Muslim north (mainly Hausas and
Fulanis) and the Christian south (mainly Yorubas and Igbos; CIA, 2009).
Since emerging from British colonialism in 1960, Nigeria has had a troubled
history replete with periodic ethnic conflicts, a civil war with a breakaway region
(Biafra, 1967–1970) that caused a million deaths, long periods of military rule, and
an oil-driven economy that has seen US$300 billion in oil pumped since indepen-
dence. Oil provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about
80% of budgetary revenues. Transparency International has consistently ranked
Nigeria as one of the world’s more corrupt countries. The GDP per capita is
US$2,100 while the literacy rate is 68% (CIA, 2009).