Experts at a review of the Millennium Development Goals and expectations for the Sustainable Development Goals on Tuesday in Abuja, projected that four million children and 200,000 women will die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth in 2030.

 

The National Coordinator of White Ribbon Alliance, a civil society organisation, Tonte Ibraye, who stated this, also noted that completing the unfinished agenda and ending preventable newborn, child and maternal deaths within the next 15 years would only be attained where there is accountability.

 

Meanwhile, world leaders, including President Muhammadu Buhari, will, on Friday, wrap up initiatives of the MDGs and inaugurate the SDGs, even though most Third World countries fell short of the targets outlined in the MDGs.

 

 

The new SDGs would run for 15 years and would be officially launched at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, September 25.

 

Ibraye called on the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and the Federal Government to tailor the new global strategy around health of women, children and adolescents, rather than a broad-based approach with little or no impact.

 

According to him, there had not been good accountability system for maternal health initiatives globally, despite the huge advances in health during the lifespan of the MDGs.

 

Ibraye said, “During the 2015 UN General Assembly, as global leaders convene to make ambitious commitments for the next 15 years, we want the UN to institute mechanisms that will allow citizens to participate at the country level implementation of the SDGs, incorporate mainstream environmental sustainability into the SDGs, and ensure youth involvement in reproductive health issues.

 

BY: FRIDAY OLOKOR

THE PUNCH