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Tag: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

  • World water week 2017: African ministers spotlight wastewater management

    World water week 2017: African ministers spotlight wastewater management

    African Water and Sanitation Ministers attending the 2017 World Water Week in Stockholm, have resolved to adopt and promote effective wastewater management across the continent

    In a statement at the opening plenary in Central Stockholm, the ministers underlined the importance of wastewater to the region’s aspirations for economic growth and sustainable development.

    The statement was made available to News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja.

    According to them, improved wastewater management is not only critical to achieving the Africa Water Vision 2025 and the Sustainable Development Goal on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), but also to other goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

    Gerson Lwenge, the Tanzanian Minister for Water and Irrigation and President of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), recalled that African ministers responsible for sanitation took proactive steps before the end of the MDGs era in 2015 by adopting the N’gor Declaration.

    He said it entailed a commitment that Africa would “progressively eliminate untreated waste by encouraging its productive use”.

    He said to actualise the potentials of turning waste to benefits Africa needed to create the right policy environment and move from policy to effective implementation.

    “It is on this basis that the High-Level Ministerial Panel at this year’s Africa Focus Sessions will explore possibilities of using science to enrich policy making and increase policy implementation efficiency,” the AMCOW president added.

    The Senegalese Hydraulic and Sanitation Minister, Amadou Faye, said that this year’s World Water Week and by extension the Africa Focus Sessions would provide a global platform for the ministers to “discuss policy options and enabling factors that support the adoption and implementation of innovative wastewater management approaches and technologies.

    Dr Mohamed Abdel-Atty, the Egyptian Water and Irrigation Minister and AMCOW Vice President for North Africa, said AMCOW was committed to achieving an Africa where there were equitable and sustainable use and management of water resources for poverty alleviation and socio-economic development.

    “With improved wastewater management particularly in the industrial and agricultural sectors, Africa will be on the firm path to food security and sustainable development”, he said.

    AMCOW’s Executive Secretary, Dr Canisius Kanangire, said faecal sludge and wastewater continually pose threats to human livelihood especially in African cities experiencing population growth due to rural to urban migration.

    According to Kanangire, experiences by AMCOW member states show that wastewater can be a resource for irrigation with basic treatment and proper hygiene practices; sludge can be used as a source of energy, and fertilizers.

    “The productive use of waste water can generate income, development of micro enterprise and employment, as well as contribute to urban food and energy security. The threat, therefore, could be turned into opportunities for poverty alleviation” Kanangire said.

    AMCOW brings together Water and Sanitation ministers from 55 African countries to promote cooperation, security, social and economic development and poverty eradication among member states through the effective management of the continent’s water resources and provision of water.

    The World Water Week, organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), is an annual gathering for all stakeholders in the globe’s water issues.

  • Internet access: Vital to addressing poverty, climate change – Ban ki-Moon

    Internet access: Vital to addressing poverty, climate change – Ban ki-Moon

    Access to information and communications technology has ben termed necessary to address the challenges of poverty and climate change.

    UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon,stated this in his message to the ongoing 11th session of the Internet Governance Forum in Jalisco, Mexico, delivered by Lenni Montiel, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development.

    “I welcome the theme of this session: ‘Enabling Inclusive and Sustainable Growth’.

    “Indeed, the Internet and information and communication technologies can play an important enabling role in our efforts to fulfil the great promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

    “They can deliver smart solutions to address climate change, hunger, poverty and other global challenges.

    “They are tools for providing digital and mobile health care and wider access to education to those in rural areas.

    “They can also help to empower women, generate efficiencies in industrial and agricultural production, and safeguard the environment,” he said.

    The Secretary-General said the 2016 gathering was the first since its 10-year renewal by the General Assembly, which reaffirmed the importance of the Internet Governance Forum multi-stakeholder platform for public policy dialogue.

    “Your efforts have made profound impacts as we strive together to create an equitable, human rights-based knowledge society,” Ban said.

    The UN chief urged the forum  to keep working to ensure universal access to a more open information society.

    “Let us address the challenges we face by empowering people everywhere with these transformative technologies so that they can help build a better future for all,” he said.

  • Why we are fighting corruption headlong – Buhari

    Why we are fighting corruption headlong – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari has explained that his administration is fighting the scourge of corruption headlong because it is contributing to the denial of the resources required for development.

    Speaking in New York at the High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development, the President called on development partners to also up the fight against corruption by returning ill-gotten financial assets and halting future illicit financial flows to their countries.

    According to the Nigerian leader, such collective action will guarantee a stronger international defence of the right to development.

    Buhari, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, also noted that illicit financial assets stashed abroad deprive developing countries including Nigeria, and invariably deny people the enjoyment of their national wealth and resources needed for development.

    He cautioned that non-repatriation of illicit financial assets could impinge on the determination of States to achieve an all-inclusive 2030 sustainable development.

    President Buhari therefore called on the United Nations to remain vocal and active in addressing the negative impact of non-repatriation of illicit financial assets on their countries of origin.

    As soon as stolen assets are legally established, he said that they should swiftly be repatriated.

    He welcomed the commemoration of three decades of the Declaration on the Right to Development, which he observed, coincides with the first anniversary of the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

    He said: “It reminds us all of the essence of development and provides us with the opportunity to reaffirm commitments to converting this right into the policies and operational activities of relevant actors at the national, regional and international levels.”

    Buhari said that as a developing country, Nigeria considers the Right to Development an inalienable right of fundamental importance, stressing that at the national level, his administration has been making strenuous efforts to ensure that the right to development is at the centre of all development initiatives.

    While reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to the UN Charter and other international conventions that uphold the Right to Development, he also drew the attention of the international community to the urgent need to address the lop-sided terms of trade between Developed and Developing Countries which have impacted negatively on the capacity of many Developing Countries to embark on development programmes for the benefit of their peoples.

    “Nigeria is convinced that the Right to Development is a shared responsibility considering the growing inequality and poverty resulting from climate change impact, natural disasters, violent extremism, social unrest and deprivation,” the President said.

    “The Right to Development must be promoted and protected like all other rights. Its universality and interdependence are indisputable,” he said.

  • United Nations on the day of Vesak        

    United Nations on the day of Vesak        

    At this time of mass population movements, violent conflicts, atrocious human rights abuses and hateful rhetoric aimed at dividing communities, the sacred commemoration of the Day of Vesak offers an invaluable opportunity to reflect on how the teachings of Buddhism can help the international community tackle pressing challenges.

    The fundamental equality of all people, the imperative to seek justice, and the interdependence of life and the environment are more than abstract concepts for scholars to debate; they are living guidelines for Buddhists and others navigating the path to a better future.

    One Sutra tells the story of Srimala, a woman who pledged to help all those suffering from injustice, illness, poverty or disaster. This spirit of solidarity can animate our global efforts to realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, carry out the Paris Agreement on climate change, and promote human rights while advancing human dignity worldwide.

    The actions of Srimala also illustrate the primary role that women can play in advocating for peace, justice and human rights. Gender equality and the empowerment of women remain urgent priorities that will drive progress across the international agenda.

    In just a few days, the United Nations will convene the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit, where leaders will join activists and other partners to address the needs of millions of vulnerable people in crisis.  Buddhists and individuals of all faiths who are concerned about the future of humanity can help advance the Summit’s aims to uphold humanitarian law, protect civilians in conflict, and improve the global response to emergencies.

    On this Day of Vesak, let us pledge to reach out to bridge differences, foster a sense of belonging, and show compassion on a global scale for the sake of our common future.