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Tag: MDG

  • UN@70, empowers Nigerian women

    UN@70, empowers Nigerian women

    As part of activities to mark the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations (UN) as well as the Post-2015 Development Agenda, over 152 women were trained on how to become better homemakers.

    The training on ‘Homemakers Lifestyle and Empowerment Workshop’ organized by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos and Brightlight Studios was themed: ‘A Better Me’.

    Defying the biting fuel scarcity in Nigeria, the women clad in beautiful dresses turned up in their numbers to be a part of the programme which also contributes to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 3: Promote Gender Equality and Women Empowerment.

    In his welcome address the Director of UNIC Lagos, Ronald Kayanja, reiterated that women remained a priority group for the United Nations and reassured that the organisation would continue to make a positive difference to the lives of millions of people especially in terms of vaccinating children and distributing food aid.

    The UNIC Director also mentioned sheltering refugees, deploying peacekeepers, protecting the environment, seeking peaceful resolution of disputes and supporting democratic elections, gender equality, human rights and the rule of law as other on the UN priority list.

    Quoting the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, Kayanja noted that “The theme of this anniversary year: ‘Strong UN: Better World’, captures the importance of multilateralism. This is a time of test but far more one of tremendous opportunities.”

    Represented by the UNIC National Information Officer, Oluseyi Soremekun, Mr Kayanja further said that the empowerment workshop aligned with the message of the UN Secretary-General on UN@70 that the United Nations looks forward to working with people everywhere to build lives of safety, prosperity and dignity for all.

    The Homemakers Lifestyle and Empowerment Workshop featured the business side of beauty which included Make-up skills and head-gear (Gele) tying lessons; Marriage/Relationship Counselling; Building a Successful Fashion Designing Business; and the Art and Science of making Desserts, Cocktails and Mocktails.

    The programme also featured exhibition of women’s products from the cultural industry; beauty products; Cakes and Pastries and women wellness products among others.

    Exhibition - Cultural industry
    Exhibition of some wares at the workshop

    Having been asked to bring along their gele for the lesson on Head-gear tying which is gradually developing to be a thriving business in the country, the women brought out their different, colourful head-tie to go through the process of tying elegant, head-turning ‘Gele’.

    The ‘Gele’ tying session appeared to be the climax of the workshop as all the women looked upbeat and determined to learn the art of tying the head-gear.

    A participant, Ms Olaitan Ajilogba, expressed her delight that she eventually mastered the process after a long trial during the session and ‘tied a beautiful and glamorous head-gear.’

    Similarly, another participant, Ms Aisha Joy Omosun, noted that the Make-up session was very instructive and educating and would add both social and economic values to the women.

    Consequently, Ms Lanre Anjola-Oyebode, Executive Director of Brightlight Studios, who had earlier explained the rationale behind the programme, said it was meant to grow the number of women who are economically independent and sufficiently empowered to support their husbands in raising educated and morally upright children.

  • Clock ticks against child, maternal health

    Clock ticks against child, maternal health

    Maternal and child mortality are inextricably linked. OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA, just back from the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, writes on why Nigeria may not be able to achieve the Millennium Developmental Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5 by the 2015 deadline.

    NIGERIA, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), lost about 2,300 under-five-year olds and 145 women of childbearing age daily in 2012.  Also, the Countdown 2014 report recorded 40,000 maternal deaths in 2013. About 110 deaths were due to or related to pregnancy.

    This makes the country the second largest contributor to the under–five and maternal mortality rate in the world. With 489 days to the deadline of Millennium Developmental Goals (MDGs), Nigeria, from all indications, may not realise MDGs 4 and 5.

    As we enter the final 489 days of the MDGs era, globally, more than half (51·8 per cent) of children still die from infectious causes, including pneumonia, diarrhoea, and malaria.

    Together, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and China have the highest number of child deaths. They all contribute to about half of all child and neonatal deaths globally in 2013. The results are published in the latest edition of The Lancet.

    MDG 4 aims at reducing, by two- thirds (between 1990 and 2015), the under-five mortality rate. Nigeria is unlikely to achieve this. Not when complications from preterm (premature) births and pneumonia are now the leading causes of death in children less than five years, which together are responsible globally for nearly two million deaths in 2013, according to the latest estimates published in The Lancet.

    MDG 5 wants to improve maternal health, because no woman should die giving birth. Yet, every day 800 women lose their lives in pregnancy or childbirth. The vast majority of these deaths occur in developing countries, including Nigeria.

    Maternal and child mortality are inextricably linked. When women are healthy and can choose when to marry, when to have children, where to have them and how many to have, their chances, and their children’s chances of survival improve drastically.

    Babies whose mothers die before they are just six weeks old are more likely to die before their second birthday than those whose mothers survive.

    Researchers led by Professor Robert Black, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA, used the latest available data and modeling methods to examine what caused an estimated 6.3 million global deaths of newborn babies (neonates) and children under five years in 2013.  They found that complications from preterm birth were the largest single cause, responsible for 965,000 deaths in under-fives, with pneumonia responsible for a further 935,000 deaths, and complications from childbirth (intrapartum complications) the next leading cause, responsible for 662, 000 deaths.

    Underneath the Nigerian statistics lies the pain of human tragedy, for thousands of families who have lost their children. Even more devastating is the knowledge that, according to recent research, essential interventions reaching women and babies on time would have averted most of these deaths.

    Although the joint efforts of the Federal and some state governments showed that the country is making progress in cutting down infant and under-five mortality rates, the pace still remains too slow to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of reducing child mortality by a third by 2015.

    Preventable or treatable infectious diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles and HIV/AIDS account for more than 70 per cent of the estimated one million under-five deaths in Nigeria.

    Malnutrition is the underlying cause of morbidity and mortality of a large proportion of children under-5 in Nigeria. It accounts for more than 50 per cent of deaths of children in this age bracket.

    The deaths of newborn babies in Nigeria represent a quartre of the total number of deaths of children under-five. The majority of these occur within the first week of life, mainly due to complications during pregnancy and delivery reflecting the intimate link between newborn survival and the quality of maternal care. Main causes of neonatal deaths are birth asphyxia, severe infection including tetanus and premature birth.

    Similarly, a woman’s chance of dying from pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria is one in 13. Although many of these deaths are preventable, the coverage and quality of health care services in Nigeria continue to fail women and children.

    Presently, less than 20 per cent of health facilities offer emergency obstetric care and only 35 per cent of deliveries are attended by skilled birth attendants.

    The Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) and the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON) have canvassed  the need for a close relationship between the well being of the mother and the child, and justifies the need to integrate maternal, newborn and child health interventions.

    It is important to note that wide regional disparities exist in child health indicators with the North-East and North-West geopolitical zones of the country having the worst child survival figures.

  • Nigeria urged to pursue MDG goals

    Nigeria has been challenged to pursue the Millennium Development Goals on education.

    Former UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown gave  the challenge at the breakfast on MDG/Roll back Malaria which  focused on education, youth, women and girls health.

    The event held at the UN Headquarters in New York saw dignitaries across the globe recommitting themselves to the realization of the MDG goals with less than  416 days to go.

    Other equally committed themselves to the post 2015 MDGs.

    Graça Marcel, wife of the late, Nelson Mandela launched the report of the MDG advocacy group.

  • MDGs: Why we lag behind, by Gbeneol

    THE Federal Government has attributed its inability to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to insurgency in some parts of the country.

    It listed size of the population and unavailability of data, amongst others as factors militating against the targets.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goal, Dr. Precious Gbeneol, stated this in a chat with reporters.

    According to him: “Despite commitment shown in the setting up of institutions, formulation of policies and programs, most African countries still face a lot of challenges in meeting the MDGs.

    “For Nigeria, apart from the size of its population, data availability and management for development planning has presented itself a huge challenge in the attainment of the MDGs.”

    Speaking about areas where Nigeria is behind, she said: “There are goals we are lagging behind; goals of sanitation and water for example, we are lagging slightly behind.

    “Universal Basic Education, with what is going on, the issues of regional insurgents and problems going on, the percentage has also fallen.”

    On some goals that have experienced positive result, Gbeneol said: “We have done well in reducing the proportion of people who suffer from hunger and poverty, gender parity has been reduced and HIV prevalence has also reduced.”

  • Fed Govt to distribute three million books

    Federal Government has launched the distribution of free three million exercise books to pupils across the country.

    This is part of efforts to meet the 2015 target of delivering basic education to children within the school age.

    The distribution, according to the office of the MDG, is aimed at easing the burden of poor families.

    The books are also expected to stimulate the interest of pupils to embrace education, thereby quitting the streets.

    Speaking at the event in Abuja, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, Dr. Precious Gbeneol, said the distribution would help cut cost and reduce the burden on parents.

    She said: “Giving these free books is a complementary thing to what the Federal Ministry of Education is doing. We are trying to reach out to the indigent pupils, who for one reason or the other, are not able to afford books. Giving them these books will ensure that they come to school.

    “It will further enhance our attainment of the goal in ensuring that they complete a basic course of education. We have done it before and we will continue to do it. We will ensure that our target is met.

    “We are helping them cut cost. The costs of textbooks and exercise books vary from one school to another and the cost of education varies too. The cost of an exercise book is about N70, so if a child gets up to 10, expenses will be reduced.”

    Dr. Gbeneol noted that government’s efforts in the educational sector are yielding positive results, stressing that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report of last year showed that in 2012, primary school attendance ratio was 71.0 per cent, which represents 10 per cent improvement in comparison to 2008.

    She said 83.9 per cent was in urban area, while 63.4 per cent was in rural area, adding that secondary school net attendance ratio was about 54. 8 per cent, while rural area accounted for 46.2 per cent.

    Dr. Gbeneol said MDGs has made available over N113.75 billion of debt relief to the Federal Ministry of Education from 2006 to date to implement programmes and projects bordering on girl-child education.

    The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission, (UBEC), Mr. Dikko Abdullahi, who was represented by Mr. Pius Osaghae, assured that he would ensure that the exercise books were distributed to the pupils through the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

     

     

  • Learning at the feet of survivors

    Learning at the feet of survivors

    In the past, researchers believed that success made people happy. Newer research, however, has identified key building blocks of success as those that work the other way round. Yetunde Oladeinde discovers how happy people are more likely to work toward goals, find the resources they need and attract others with their energy and optimism.

    WOMEN who have been battered and have issues with relationship most times are at a crossroad. From being battered they often move to the stage of abandonment which can be traumatic. How can a woman in this stage rediscover herself? How can she move from this state of frustration and find a better future.

    Louisa Eikhomun, the executive director of Echoes of Women in Africa, takes you into the world of women who have survived the trauma of violence at different stages of their lives at a forum called Encouragers Circle. The event which took place at Club Mendoza, Magodo phase two, Lagos was done in collaboration with Ideas Builders with the theme, “Where support is for survivor’s evoked emotions from all and Sundry.”

    Some of the survivors of Violence took turns to share their experiences while resource persons tried to proffer solutions to the myriad problems affecting these women.

    “The project is in realisation of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) one which aims at reducing extreme poverty by 2015. This is also an avenue to reduce gender imbalance by creating a platform for victims and survivors to break the silence. We also provide women with emotional strength, skills for livelihood”.

    Eikhomun goes on to count some of the achievements recorded and the challenges encountered. “We have been hosting this circle since 2010 for women who have been abused, displaced due to conflict and disaster. There is urgent need to bring together these beneficiaries and encourage them emotionally, economically and provide referrals where necessary.

    She adds that: “We try to mend the lives of those who have been abused, abandoned, widowed, women with disability and single parents through genuine concern. We intervene through counseling, skill acquisition, legal aid, medical support and micro credit facilities.”

    Enitan Onitiri, who cultivates rice on about four hectares of land at Itokin, gave a presentation on Economic support for survivor’s uses some of her personal experience to buttress her point. “I have been through violence before and I learnt through the hard way. I married at an early age to someone who was older but today I can stand on my own. For me, it was determination to be heard and making sure that I gave my children the best.”

    “If you talk about violence from today till thy kingdom come, you will not find solution to it. It is important to put in your best and try to make your marriage work. But if you try and it does not work out the best thing is to empower yourself.”

    The way out of the woods for women in this category according to Onitiri is hard work. “If you believe in your fingers, then you are likely to go far. You can go even above the skies and the sky won’t even be your limit. It can be worse when you are a woman that is married to someone from another culture like me. I was an Edo woman who was married to a Yoruba man. Here you would discover that the way you were brought up was quite different from the person you are getting married to. The way to a man’s heart is what he eats and how the home is kept.”

    Onitiri continued: “While I was married I did not work, he did everything to please me. My husband was a civil engineer and all I did was to go to site with him. Death came and there was no one to turn to. I went back and asked myself how I was going to survive with four kids. Thank God I had the passion for Agriculture and I started rearing chicken and from this I went to piggery. It was on World Food Day and I had the biggest pig on my farm. I sold it and this also opened other doors for me. I was discovered by the Lagos State government and today I am one of the leading farmers in the Agric sector. I did not read Agriculture but my passion and hard work took me there. Along the line, I also went into catering but today I have handed over my catering department to my daughter. This year I reaped part of the fruits of my labour on Mother’s Day, my son bought me a jeep. “

    Juliet Ezenwa Maja Pearce, an artist spoke on support during and after violence. “It is very important not to transfer abuse. A lot of people pass on what they had suffered to others and this should not be the case. A lot of times, you find that those who perpetuate some traditions are women. Times have changed and we can no longer use the old method that we have been using to find solutions to these problems.”

    Pearce adds that: “You also need to know that you are not to blame when there is a crisis in the relationship. One other thing that mothers need to know now is that they should not gamble with the reproductive years. Women do not have all the time, it is therefore important to plan properly as well as seek counseling.”

    The climax of the event was the presentation of a cheque to young Grace by Madam Eunice Akalegbere for her to further her education. “Grace was given cheque for WAEC exams because she couldn’t complete her education because of early marriage. She has been learning computer in our office after resolving her issue with her husband”, Eikhomun said.

  • Is anti-graft war on course?

    Is anti-graft war on course?

    House of Representatives Speaker Hon. Aminu Tambuwal has alleged that President Goodluck Jonathan is not committed to the anti-corruption battle. In this piece, VICTOR OLUWASEGUN and DELE ANOFI examine the circumstances that led to the public outburst and its implications for the executive/legislative relations.

    When House of Representatives Speaker Hon. Aminu Tambuwal dropped the bombshell, many Nigerians were taken aback. The number four citizen dissected the polity, saying that the anti-corruption battle was not on course. In his view, President Goodluck Jonathan has not shown enough commitment to the crusade against graft.

    The Speaker attempted to substantiate his allegation. After presenting a paper at a one-day roundtable marking the International Anti-corruption Day by the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Tambuwal objected to the manner the President handled the pension fraud, the N255million bullet proof car scandal, and the alleged fraud in the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC). He said President Jonathan is encouraging corruption by his reluctance to promptly address the high profile corruption unearthed by the legislature.

    It was the first time the Speaker would speak against the administration in the public. While some people hailed him for his boldness, others said that his remarks were a brazen assault on the Presidency.

    However, barely a week after, former President Olusegun Obasanjo also wrote a letter to the President, accusing his administration of corruption.

    Few days after the Abuja outburst, Tambuwal dropped another bombshell during the inauguration of the House Ad-hoc Committee on Oil Theft at the National Assembly. He accused the Federal Government of complicity in oil theft, adding that N750 billion was being lost annually. Also, in his letter, Obasanjo alluded to the same crime, urging the President to halt the trend.

    Tambuwal has been a moderating factor in the House of Representatives, although he is largely portrayed as a friend of the opposition. Many believe that, as a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, he has been instrumental to the maintenance of a reasonable equilibrium in favour of the President in the House. Therefore, some said that he has a moral burden to refrain from washing the dirty linen of the government in the public.

    However, many legislators supported the Speaker’s approach. They said that Tambuwal’s outburst was borne out of the passive attitude of the executive to the legislative resolutions on corruption.

    Many legislators have expressed concern over the way the Presidency handled the allegations against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) headed by Ms. Arumah Oteh. The matter led to frosty relationship between the two arms of government. The investigation by the Chairman of the House Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, Herman Hembe, went awry when he was accused of fraud by the Director-General. Eventually, the resolution by the House that the Oteh should be removed and the suggestion that the SEC should be excluded from the budget were ignored by the President.

    Also, the punitive recommendation by the House against the Minister of Aviation over the allegation of N255 million bullet proof car fraud was ignored by the President, who set up an administrative committee to look into the matter.

    Tambuwal frowned at the way the fuel subsidy probe was also handled by the President. He said many of the recommendations were not implemented, based on the fact that the probe was discredited by the bribe- for- clearance allegation against the Ad hoc Chairman, Hon. Farouk Lawan. The House was of the opinion that, in spite of the allegation, the recommendation, if implemented to the letter, would have cleansed the petroleum sector

    Tambuwal’s warning did not start overnight. On Jan 6, he had warned the Executive against corruption while speaking on the amendment of the constitution. The Speaker had sent a clear signal to the Executive and the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), saying that the House would not condone a situation where few people feed fat on the wealth of the nation and majority of Nigerians wallow in abject poverty. He said the House will monitor step the MDAs and ensure that the national wealth is judiciously used by them.

    The Speaker said: “We are convinced now more than ever before, that a situation where the majority of the citizens continue to live in abject poverty while an insignificant minority corner the commonwealth is not only unjust, but unacceptable.

    “In this regard, we shall continue to adopt a pragmatic and functional approach to ensure that the war against corruption is removed from the realm of rhetoric by exercising absolute diligence in our oversight function to enhance transparency and accountability in both high and low strata.

    In November last year, the House raised an alarm over the non-remittance of N4 trillion by 60 MDAs indicted by the House panel report. The Nigerian National Petroleum Commission (NNPC) was summoned to explain $7bn missing crude oil funds. Also, Alhaji Rilwan Lukman and Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke were asked to appear before the investigative committee. The position of the Executive has always been that funds were not missing.

    Sequel to reports by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF) over the non-remittance of over N4 trillion by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for the 2009 fiscal year, the House summoned the Minister of Petroleum Resources and past chairmen and members of the Board of the NNPC. They are among 60 MDAs investigated by the Public Accounts Committee headed by Solomon Adeola.

    Adeola said that a comprehensive probe into the operation of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is underway. He alleged that the company has not remitted any revenue into the government coffers for seven years.

    “On the issue of the LNG, you will agree with me that the only thing that constitutes revenue today, apart from taxes, is oil. The LNG has been on for over six to seven years and they’re not privatised and we’ve not even heard from them”, he said.

    The House also supported the Senate’s call for the sack of the Chairman of the Pension Task Force Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, over pension fraud and corruption. It ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, to appear before its committee on Police Affairs to explain why he did not act on the warrant issued by the Senate. But it was later alleged that the Presidency was shielding Maina.

    In March, the legislators, through a motion moved by the Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Hon. Bimbo Daramola, agreed that the immunity granted the former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, “was not well thought out.”

    On July 28, the House Committee on Anti-Corruption, National Ethics and Values resolved to investigate the Ministry of Aviation over the award of contracts running into billions of naira. The committee alleged that the contract money was paid for jobs not executed. Its Chairman, Abiodun Faleke, said the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) and the Ministry of Works would be investigated for breaching the Public Procurement Act.

    He said: “The impunity with which we do things in this country is appalling, like the abuse of ‘No Objection Certificate’ given by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP). All agencies are using this loophole to issue contracts of over N20b without advertising them, once they write to the BPP that allows for selective tendering.

    “Talking of impunity, during an oversight of MDG projects, we discovered that a canal was conducted in Okrika for over N2billlion. The consultancy fee for the project that was not even in the 2012 budget and not appropriated for was N900m”.

    The House has also criticised the Federal Government for the poor implementation of the budget. In its view, the President only selects and implements some items in the budget.

    The 2014 budget presentation to the National Assembly was aborted by President Jonathan at the last minute, due to the insistence of the House on $79 per barrel.

    However, the public has always had the impression that the face off between the House and the Presidency is related to the manner in which the Speaker emerged in 2011 against the will and zoning formula of the PDP. But, Tambuwal is of the opinion that the House was living up to its vision, which is “ pursue an aggressive legislative agenda to reposition itself as a key branch of government, able and determined to deliver on the key elements of governance”.

    A legislator, who craved for anonymity, said that “that is why the House frowns when the Executive says that its resolutions are mere advice”. But another legislator said: “Tambuwal is only playing to the gallery by attacking the President in order to gain favour from the opposition in the House”.

  • WHO: Three million miss TB diagnosis

    ABOUT three million people do not recieve tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis yearly, the World health Organisation (WHO) has said.

    According to a WHO report, about three quarters of the cases are in 12 countries. The report was released by the WHO in London and Geneva.

    About 75 per cent of the estimated 2.9 million missed cases, that is, people who were either not diagnosed or diagnosed, but not reported to National TB Points (NTPs) – were in 12 countries. They are India (31 per cent of the global total), South Africa, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia; China, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Nigeria, Ethiopia; the Philippines and Myanmar.

    According to WHO Director of the Global TB Programme, Mario Raviglione, “Quality TB care for millions worldwide has driven down TB deaths. But far too many people are still missing out on such care and are suffering as a result. They are not diagnosed, or not treated, or information on the quality of care they received is unknown.”

    WHO estimates Global tuberculosis report for this year that the three million people who are currently undiagnosed by health systems account for one third of all those falling ill with TB yearly.

    According to the report, reaching the missed cases is among the five priority actions to accelerate progress towards 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

    Other areas include: addressing multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) as a public health crisis; accelerating the response to TB/HIV; increasing financing to close all resource gaps and ensuring rapid adoption of innovations.

    The report said the response to testing and treating all those affected by multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) is inadequate. WHO estimated that 450,000 fell ill with MDR-TB last year alone, with China, India and Russia carrying the highest burden of the disease.

    Other key findings of the report point out that by last year, TB mortality rate had been reduced by 45 per cent since 1990, making the MDG target to reduce deaths by 50 per cent by 2015 achievable.

    “The Global TB Report highlights the very big gains the global community has made in the fight against tuberculosis,” said Head of the Strategy, Investment and Impact Division of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Osamu Kunii.

    He said: “We are now at a crucial moment where we cannot afford to let these gains go into reverse. We need the commitment of the international community to address a significant funding gap to fight this disease.”

    Two-thirds of international donor financing for TB is provided by the Global Fund. By July this year, Global Fund financing has cumulatively supported detection and treatment of 11 million smear-positive cases of TB, up from 9.7 million at the end of last year. The number of people treated for multi-drug-resistant TB grew to 88,000 from 69,000 through Global-Fund supported programmes, he added.

  • ‘FG, states, may miss MDG water, sanitation targets’

    The Minister of Water Resources, Sarah Ochekpe, has said that the federal and state governments are struggling to meet the Millennium Development Goals on safe water and sanitation.

    The minister also lamented the decline in water quality in the country.

    According to the minister, availability of water in the right quantity and quality will affect the production of food, industrial development, recreation and power production, leading to sustained human existence.

    The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Baba Umar Farouk, spoke in Abuja at a technical committee meeting on the “Review of Nigerian Standard for Drinking Quality Water”.

    She noted that increased population growth, rapid urbanisation, discharge of new pathogens and chemicals from industries as well as agriculture were affecting water quality.

    Ochekpe said: “Improved access to potable water supply and basic sanitation are the challenges all the governments of the federation are facing as we strive to meet the stated MDGs targets.

    “The threats posed by these water quality issues require that drinking water supplies to the public must be wholesome and potable to avert ill health.

    “About 70% of common tropical diseases are water diseases and can be eliminated if adequate supply of water at the right quantity and quality are provided to the public.”

     

  • MDGs: FG to release N25bn to 250 LGAs

    The Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Dr. Precious Gbeneol, on Thursday said the Federal Government would release N25 billion to develop 250 local government areas in the country.

    This is contained in a statement issued by Mr. Desmond Utomwe, the Media and Communications Consultant to the office in Abuja.

    The statement said the effort was aimed at fast-tracking the achievement of the MDGs in Nigeria ahead of the 2015 deadline.

    It said the fund would be used to develop the areas, adding that each of them would receive N100 million.

    It said the funds would be released through Conditional Grants Scheme (CGS) programme.

    The statement also said that the efforts would enhance development through the provision of essential services such as water, healthcare services, education and poverty reduction.

    According to the statement, the initiative has scaled-up MDGs investment and policy attention towards priority sectors and improved service delivery.

    “The CGS intergovernmental collaboration has yielded positive results within the last three years.

    “About 5,000 water projects have been provided across 113 local government areas, including 1,536 ventilated and improved VIP latrines in the water and sanitation sector,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the presidential aide as saying in the statement.

    It said the MDGs had successfully constructed and equipped 1,305 health facilities and trained 2,610 village health workers