ILO Country Office-Abuja Supports Presidential Summit on MDGs and Post 2015 Agenda

The International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Gambia; and Liaison Office for ECOWAS has provided technical and financial support to Federal Government of Nigeria to organize a Presidential Summit on MDGs and Post 2015 Agenda

The Summit which was organized by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs aimed at accelerating the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ahead of the 2015 target date. The summit also aimed to evaluate the achievements, challenges and lessons learnt in the implementation of the development agenda in Nigeria. While providing an opportunity for Nigerians to prepare for a successor framework by the time MDGs end in 2015, the summit also afforded the participants an opportunity to review implementation of the MDGs in Nigeria, highlighting best practices, key achievements and the contributions of the development agenda to national socio-economic transformation.

In his remarks, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said his government was adopting a suitable and progressive agenda to comprehensively take into account the current and emerging challenges that slow down the progress on the Internationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGS). The President stated that the MDGs framework has helped to focus local and international attention on improving the lives of the most vulnerable in the society. While assuring that his government was committed to the outcome of the Presidential Summit, the president emphasized the need for the Post 2015 Development Plan to address issues under the MDGs, adding that “the post-2015 development Agenda would have positive impact on the development trajectory of nations around the world if the new set of goals tackle the issues that were left unaddressed under the current framework’.”

Making her remarks at the Presidential Summit, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, Precious Gbeneol, stated that despite the challenges being faced, Nigeria had achieved success in reducing HIV prevalence, maternal and child mortality, gender parity amongst other goals. She emphasized the need for sustainability policy framework that will ensure the continuous availability of portable water to millions of Nigerians beyond 2015, saying, “as activities relating to the MDGs gradually wind down globally, the sustainability of projects implemented through the Nigeria MDGs office is of keen interest and as such, the need to develop a sustainability policy framework for these projects cannot be over-emphasized”.

The summit which had as it theme “The MDGs and the socio-economic transformation of Nigeria: 2015 and Beyond” held in parallel sessions with the ILO playing major roles in three of the parallel sessions namely:

• “Inclusive growth, job creation and human development”
• “Helping to Strengthen Capacities and Build Effective Institutions"
• “Youth Forum on Post 2015 Development Agenda”

The Officer-In-Charge of ILO Country Office Abuja, Mr. Dennis Zulu, in his goodwill message at the Youth Forum on Post 2015 Development Agenda, stated that “as we discuss inclusive and sustainable development, it means we work towards all young people having the opportunity to enjoy health and wellbeing, to profit from education and training, to find gainful employments and pursue rewarding careers, and to benefit from civic and political empowerment. Therefore we call for a specific goal on Job Creation/Employment with specific indicators on youth employment”.

Apart from actively participating in the three parallel meetings, ILO presented a goodwill message and made a presentation while its officials also served as discussants at the meetings.

The Summit also featured exhibitions, feedback sessions, and launch of the Nigerian MDGs Information Management System (NMIS).