From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Barely eight years to the end of Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, the Federal Government has lamented that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has eroded its achievements.
It has also hinted that if the global goals are to be attained by 2030, it cannot rely on the traditional budgetary sources which it described as grossly inadequate to finance the SDGs.
The SGDs or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. The SDGs were set up in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by the year 2030.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs), Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said these at the Roundtable Dialogue on the Establishment of SDG Innovation Hubs in the Six Geo-Political Zones across the country, on Wednesday, while urging Nigerians to continue to adhere to the non-pharmaceutical measures of the COVID-19 protocol especially with the detection of cases of the latest variant, Omicron in the country.
The presidential aide described the collaboration between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs) on the initiative as both laudable and forward-thinking.
Orelope-Adefulire commended the UNDP Nigeria and the UN System in Nigeria for initiating the ‘UN joint programme on Institutionalising Social Protection for Accelerated SDG implementation in Nigeria’, targeted at strengthening social protection at the federal level in Nigeria through mechanisms such as the Innovation Hubs.
UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, Lealem Dinku represented by Clare Henshaw, explained that the joint UN project on Institutionalizing Social Protection for Accelerated SDGs implementation in Nigeria is being implemented by four UN Agencies (UNICEF, ILO, WFP and UNDP).
“In line with UNDP component, UNDP in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs (OSSAP-SDGs) is in the process of establishing SDGs Accelerator/Innovation Hubs in six states (Sokoto, Gombe, Enugu, Delta, Lagos and Nasarawa state) representing six geopolitical zones.
Minister of State for Budget and National Planning of Nigeria, Clement Agba, in his goodwill message, said that with the recent approval of the National Development Plan 2021 – 2025 by the Federal Executive Council at its meeting of 10th November, 2021, the stage has been set for the transformation of our country.
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, in his goodwill message said the Hub will also be useful in the development of SDG solutions and governance mechanisms which will promote achievements across SDGs thematic areas and outcomes.