Lagos Can Deliver On Millennium Development Goals By 2015 —Fashola

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Thursday reiterated that Lagos State can deliver on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 as it relate to infants and maternal mortality, education and other key targets.

The Governor who spoke at the Lagos House, Ikeja during the signing of the UNICEF Programme Implementation Agreement said the State Government is up to the task and part of the efforts it has put in place is the sharing of responsibilities in the Ministry of Health to include the functioning of a Special Adviser on Public Health to take care of all issues that may arise out of public health decisively.

He noted that considering the rate of growth of the Nigerian population, there has arisen the need to address the sustainability of government efforts in the light of the growth being recorded.

“The economies of what we are trying to do suggest that we cannot continue like this. If the world’s population will soon hit 7Billion as projected and two/third of them are living below the poverty line and in the face of disaster, hunger and famine, the time has come for increased action on population control.

“We cannot add more children when those we have already are in poverty. Simply put there will be less to share. The question we should also ask is that, can a couple always take care of the baby they intend to have. Everyone of us must be an advocate of population control,” he explained.

Governor Fashola suggested the adoption of advocacy campaigns that would involve the officials of UNICEF and the State Government on the need to let the populace know that every sexual intercourse must not necessarily lead to a new baby.

“We must be courageous now to tell ourselves that excessive procreation given the economic reality now is not sustainable. I am going to be an ambassador for this campaign.”

The Governor explained that all the myths such as high infant mortality rate that people have always bandied about as being responsible for large number of children have been taken care of with improved potency of vaccination which has ensured elimination of polio in the state.

Governor Fashola, who also spoke on the Maternal Child Care centres being built by the State Government said the hospitals have addressed the problem of access as expectant mother do not have to travel very long distances anymore to seek medical attention.

The Governor who acknowledged that there is still a lot more to be done added that hospitals and equipments alone do not treat people and do not save lives but people with skills, passion as well as availability of drugs.

“We have already designed a booklet that enables us monitor every woman that comes here with at least four children for over five years of their developmental life. We intend to be involved with the mother and her children from conception to age five at the least.

“This is something that we are seeing snags and we are not ready to contribute until we see that all of the snags are sorted out. We have been at this for almost two years. The hospitals are running but there is a more intensive opportunity there. We are working behind the scene to ensure that by the time we make this public, we are able to respond to the clear deluge that we would receive.”

While speaking on the issue of prevalence of street children mentioned by the UNICEF head of Lagos Office, the Governor said the challenges in Lagos are compounded by her successes because the children are not necessarily children born in Lagos but children who migrate to Lagos with their parents in search of the proverbial Golden Fleece in Lagos.

Governor Fashola who also spoke on reports of imminent shortage of vaccines tasked the UNICEF representatives to work on the reports and arrest the shortage because the government and the agency cannot afford to lose on the gains already recorded.

The Governor later signed the UNICEF Programme Implementation Agreement with the agency’s Assistant Country Representative and Chief of Lagos Office, Mrs Sara Beysolow-Nyanti signing on behalf of the UNICEF. Prominent among those who attended the event were the Deputy Governor, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ade Ipaiye, Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Ben Akabueze as well as Mrs Roseleen Akinroye, a Child Protection Specialist with UNICEF and other top government functionaries.