Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs (SSAP-MDGS), Dr. Precious Kalambar Gbeneol, has said that N1 trillion would be required annually for the next four years to be able to achieve the overall objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The goals, such as preventing maternal and infant deaths arising from access to good and affordable healthcare by the poor, prevention of HIV/AIDS transmission and education have a terminal date of 2015. These and five other goals like provision of safe water are supposed to be met by the deadline set about 10 years ago.
Gbeneol spoke while fielding questions from journalists at the presentation of a communiqué at the end of the four days retreat for actors and shareholders. It had the theme, ‘Refocusing MDGs for Sustainable National Transformation’.
Although it had been widely taken as an impossible task as Nigeria is way behind schedule, the newly appointed chief executive of the agency, Gbeneol, a medical practitioner, was optimistic.
“If everybody reprioritises their budget from individuals to local and state governments to align with the goals of the MDGs and put in more funds in addition to what they are putting in from the debt relief and if all stakeholders, action players and the man on the street is sensitised and embraces the MDGs as a focus in its attainment, I am optimistic we can achieve it,” she said.
Gbeneol assured the stakeholders that with the cooperation of everybody, and proper prioritisation, the attainment of the MDGs by the terminal year of 2015 would be possible.
The retreat was undertaken to review the implementation of the programme so as to identify the challenges, possibilities and prospects for the future.
Chairman, House Committee on MDGs, Hon. Alhassan Addo Doguwa, assured that since the Nigerian government was borne out of the will of the people, the legislature would always ensure that legislation and their implementation would impact positively on those they are representing.
According to him, the MDG was a programme that was all over the country, borne out of the opinion of members of the National Assembly.
Doguwa said in relation to “our own legislation, execution and implementation of government policies”, the National Assembly and the executive were always mindful of the interest of the downtrodden masses.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fg-needs-n4trn-to-attain-mdgs/100925/
