The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were hatched during the United Nations Summit in year 2000.
At the summit, world leaders adopted a UN MDGs Declaration from which eight goals designed to promote development particularly in the world’s poorest countries evolved.
The 8-point development goals include eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empowerment of women and reduce child mortality.
Others are to improve maternal health by promoting universal access to reproductive health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and others diseases as tuberculosis, ensure environmental sustainability as well as develop global partnership for development.
No doubt, all the 8 goals if pursued vigorously by member nations would indeed bring about overall development of nations of the world and improve living standard of humanity particularly in the poorest countries.
It is no exaggeration, therefore, that poverty and hunger, universal primary education, gender equality, child mortality, maternal health are challenges confronting mankind today the world over.
Worse still, HIV and the AIDS scourge remain a major threat to life and so are malaria and tuberculosis among others.
The challenge of environmental sustainability were accorded desired attention where nations of the world were enjoined to integrate environmental sustainability into their countries’ policies and programmes as part of efforts to check biodiversity loss and also halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to drinking water.
The 8th goal in itself is largely seen by many as solution because it emphasizes global partnership and collaboration as it relates to non-discriminatory trading and financial system.
As it is commonly said, it is not in the UN that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be achieved.
They have to be achieved in each of its member states by the efforts of their governments and people.
Nations of the world have, therefore, taken the message of MDG home since 2000 with expectation to eradicate or halve the challenges outlined by the MDG by 2015 target about a year from 2014.
Nigeria is not left out in the scheme of things.
In fact, President Goodluck Jonathan has considered it expedient to appoint a Senior Special Assistant to coordinate and harmonize efforts at achieving MDGs in Nigeria.
It is common knowledge that Doctor Precious Kalamba Gbeneol is the Snr. Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and she and her team are saddled with the responsibility to implement government’s plans to achieving MDG in Nigeria.
Evidence abounds that Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) projects are common place nationwide, be they in the north, east, west and south.
A total of nine thousand eight hundred and fifty six (9,856) projects were approved under the 2012 conditional grant scheme for local government interventions.
This investment in projects involved procurement of consumables in health, educational facilities, construction of these facilities, installation of bore holes in communities among others while the introduction of independent monitors led to improvement in performance measurement.
It is on record that the specific objectives of the MDGs – Conditional Grants Scheme (CGS) includes among other things to strengthen the partnership within the three tiers of government for national planning, encourage improvements in public expenditure reform; promote improvements in public service delivery and empower state and local government to carry out their constitutional responsibilities.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) projects in Nigeria range from provision of portable drinking water, health centres, medical equipment to construction of classroom.
Others are provision of solar electricity, ambulances, renovation of ailing public facilities and investment in human capital development among others.
The office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDG in Nigeria collaborates and partners other ministries and agencies of government and intervention agencies to actualize the aspirations of government towards the attainment of the MDGs in Nigeia.
Besides, the MDG in Nigeria collaborates and partners other ministries and agencies of government and intervention agencies to actualize the aspirations of government.
Better still, the MDG office in Nigeria through its Conditional Grant Scheme (CGS) synergizes efforts with state and local governments, to attain its objectives in the country.
It is also important to place on record that this collaboration between the three tiers of government came to limelight in 2007 even though the scheme had experienced empirical reforms since 2011 with local government track and the consolidated Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) to vulnerable households. These reforms have also guaranteed timely and effective implementation and completion of projects and programmes across the country in vital sectors such as health, education, water, sanitation and wealth creation across 148 local government areas in the country.
To achieve success, it employs a two-plunge monitoring approach identified as local government and state tracks.
This two edged monitoring systems enable it to ascertain the contributions of various state and local governments as well as the state of project under MDG scheme nationwide.
The monitoring exercise is undertaken by highly motivated professionals of varied backgrounds.
Today in Nigeria, there is no local government area that does not enjoy either MDG projects or that does not have on-going Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) projects under construction.
Interestingly, the MDG 3rd Round local government track 2012 – CGS monitoring will soon be rounded off preparatory to the commencement of 2013 conditional grant scheme monitoring.
It is heart-warming that today in Nigeria, the MDG office has successfully addressed the challenge of access to basic social amenities.
Consequently, children and women in many communities across the country now have access to portable drinking water, schools and health centres more than ever, thereby bridging urban-rural infrastructural gap.
BARIDORN SIKA
