Tuesday, April 29, 2008



NIGERIAN YOUTHS TAKE A STAND AGAINST POVERTY




Youths in Ogun state in Nigeria have called on their State government to declare outright war against poverty by reviewing its development priorities and increasing resource allocation to programmes that contribute to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals.



Speaking at a capacity building workshop hosted by REALFRIENDS, representatives from 26 youth groups called on the government to create mechanisms that ensure young people are involved in the development of poverty reduction strategies. They urged the government to take advantage of existing youth platforms by drawing on the huge depository of knowledge and energy of the State’s young people.



Facilitators at the workshop, whose main theme was “The role of youths and youth organizations in the achievement of the MDGs”, was attended by several key government officials including Mr Adenopo, Director of Planning & Coordinator of MDGs Unit in the Governor’s office, Abass K. Olatunbosun, Zonal Coordinator, Water Aid Nigeria, Ms. Jennifer Ehidiame, project Ambassador, One World Youth Project and Dr Fadeyi, Resident doctor were present to facilitate various sessions of the workshop.



The workshop extensively deliberated on the eight goals and their targets, review and progress made in Nigeria and Ogun state. They further urged the government to provide incentives and funding opportunities for youth organizations to initiate non-formal education activities targeting girls and women, who they described as the most marginalized by society. They called on non-governmental organizations to scale up their anti-poverty work by increasing youth participation in policy and programmatic development.



The major outcome of the workshop was the formation a youth network as a platform for dialogue, regular interaction and knowledge sharing on the MDGs. A committee was set up to formulate a plan for integrating youth activities into national development programmes with a view to fast-tracking the achievement of the MDGs. The meeting provided a platform for coalition formation and produced a communiqué which will be published.



Nigeria has made significant progress in meeting some of the MDGs, particularly Goal number 2 on education, where net enrolment rates show considerable improvement as a result of the government’s implementation of the Universal Basic Education Programme (UBEP). The government has demonstrated commitment to the gender equality goal by initiating a unique girls’ education project and a child-friendly school initiative. On Goals 7 and 8 respectively the government has implemented a number of initiatives that merit special mention are the agreement on Zero Tolerance on Gas Flares by 2008 and the cancellation of Nigeria’s international debt, freeing up an additional $1 billion a year for poverty reduction.


For further information, please contact the UN Millennium Campaign, Africa Office on africa.millenniumcampaign@undp.org

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© United Nations Millennium Campaign - 2008