2016: MDGs out, SDGs in

2016: MDGs out, SDGs in

The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have commenced today, as the agenda that will guide development actions for the next 15 years globally.
The SDGs replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were developed and implemented in the last 15 years.
The SDGs which will run till 2030 were adopted by world leaders last September at the United Nations. The new agenda calls on countries to begin efforts to achieve 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over the next 15 years.
"The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are our shared vision of humanity and a social contract between the world's leaders and the people," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "They are a to-do list for people and planet and a blueprint for success."
The SDGs, unanimously adopted by the UN's 193 Member States at an historic summit in September 2015, address the needs of people in both developed and developing countries, emphasising that no one should be left behind.
Broad and ambitious in scope, the agenda addresses the three dimensions of sustainable development: social, economic and environmental, as well as important aspects related to peace, justice and effective institutions.
Already, efforts to source for finance by the development partners such as World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and individual states have commenced.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets of the new agenda will be monitored and reviewed using a set of global indicators. These will be compiled into an annual SDG progress indicator.
President Muhammadu Buhari while presenting the MDGs end Point Report 2015 in New York recently, said Nigeria will provide the needed political support and policy guidance in the implementation of the SDGs.
"Consequently, as we exit the MDGs, I wish to give a firm assurance of Nigeria's commitment to completing the unfinished business of the MDGs in the new development framework," the president said.
Also speaking at the presentation of the report, Ag Secretary of Programmes, Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, Mr Ochapa Ogenyi, said a final stock take of the MDGs implementation reveals that although many challenges remain, Nigeria has made significant progress in reducing under-five mortality rate, getting more children immunized and that the net enrolment rates in primary and secondary schools had registered commendable progress in the past.
"A renewed sense of commitment both from the government and international development partners, is required if Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are to serve as the veritable platform for improving some of the worrisome aspects of human development indicators that continue to threaten peace, stability and development in the country," he said.

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