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The Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Millennium Development Goals (SSAP-MDG), Dr Precious Gbeneol has charged all stakeholders to show more commitment in the country’s quest to alleviate extreme poverty in the land and give succour to the poor.
Gbeneol stated this in a statement issued by the Head of Information and Communication in the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Millennium Development Goals (OSSAP-MDG), Dr Christopher Otabor.
The Presidential aide stated that as Nigeria celebrates nationhood, there is the need more than ever before for government at all levels, private sector operators and other well meaning individuals to re-double their efforts towards mitigating the plight of the poor by supporting the well-thought out transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.
“Those poor people, especially in the rural areas need our supports. We all must contribute our quota to bringing solace and succour to the poor. We all have a role to play and cannot continue to shy away from this truth. It has become obvious that the government alone cannot do this with meagre resources at her disposal. The onus is on us all and it is either we collectively put our hands on the deck to confront it head on or we feign ignorance, play the ostrich, and live to suffer the consequences tomorrow. The choice is ours to make.
The SSAP-MDGs added that the administration of President Jonathan through the implementation of the transformation agenda and the MDGs framework has been working round the clock to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people but needs the support of all stakeholders.
Gbeneol added that ahead of the 2015, deadline, Nigeria, as revealed by recent Nigeria Bureau of Statistics report has met goals three and six as well as the Hunger target of goal one but more still need to be done.
The country’s Maternal Mortality Ratio, which was estimated that 1,000 mothers died per 100,000 live births in 1990, dropped to 545 in 2008 and to 350 in 2012. Nigeria has also recorded 65 per cent reduction in maternal mortality between 2000 and 2013 and increased skilled birth attendants from 17 per cent in 2000 to 60 per cent 2013.
There has also been a reduction from the 2008 NDHS figure for under-five mortality rate of 157 deaths per 1,000 live births, to 94 deaths. Nigeria’s latest statistics indicated that infant mortality has dropped from 100/1,000 live births as recently as 2003 to 61/1,000 per live births.
