Friday, September 19, 2025 - Nigeria stands at a critical juncture as new global data reveal robust support for international cooperation.
The Rockefeller Foundation, releasing the findings of a
sweeping global survey, announced a $50 million “Build the Shared Future”
initiative aimed at fostering collaboration to address crises and create a
healthier, more prosperous, and secure world.
At a moment of massive global disruption, including dramatic
cuts to humanitarian and development work—The Rockefeller Foundation’s new
survey captures how people view global cooperation and key international
institutions. 36,405 adults were polled in 34 countries. This includes
countries in sub-Saharan Africa – Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South
Africa.
Kenya stands out as a global leader in support for
international cooperation, with 72% of its population backing the idea. This
places Kenya among the top countries globally, alongside India (81%), South
Korea (73%), Nigeria (71%), and South Africa (70%). Sub-Saharan Africa overall
shows strong support at 68%.
“At a moment when the world is struggling to cooperate on
addressing shared threats, The Rockefeller Foundation can once again help
bring people together from across the world and across political divides to
test new ideas and catalyse innovative solutions that will save lives,” said
Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, President and CEO of the ONE Campaign and member of The
Rockefeller Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
The results show that despite cuts to development aid and
rising nationalist rhetoric around the world, most people still want nations to
work together to take on common threats. Yet the findings also show that
support for global cooperation, while real, is fragile. People back cooperation
when it delivers results, though some survey respondents remain sceptical that
international cooperation serves their interests. For example, 75% of people
surveyed globally would support international cooperation if it is proven to
effectively solve global problems and 76% would support international cooperation
if it is proven to solve problems in peoples’ own countries. Today, less than
half 42% of those surveyed globally, think international cooperation is in
their personal interests.
“For too long, the narrative around development in Africa
has been focused on aid rather than on partnership and mutual benefit. This new
data confirms what we’ve always known—that Africans want a system of international
cooperation that is not only effective but also equitable. Build the Shared
Future provides a powerful opportunity to design and implement solutions that
prioritise local leadership, leverage innovation, and build a more resilient
and prosperous future for the continent,” said William Asiko, Vice President of
Africa at The Rockefeller Foundation.
People around the world overwhelmingly believe that global
cooperation is important to take on central global issues from jobs (90%),
trade and economic development (92%), food and water security (93%), global
health (91%), climate (86%) and poverty and inequality (90%). However, trust in
some existing institutions that can guide or drive global cooperation is relatively
lower, including for the United Nations (58%), World Health Organisation (60%),
the International Monetary Fund (44%), among others.
The Rockefeller Foundation’s Build the Shared Future initiative
aims to galvanise the global community to leave behind an inadequate status
quo and get smarter, more creative, and more collaborative in tackling the
world’s biggest threats.
FocalData, a research technology company, was engaged to conduct the survey, conducted between August 8 and September 10.
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