2nd May, 2013
By Precious Kalamba Gbeneol
In September 2000, building upon a decade of major United Nations conferences and summits, world leaders came together at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and setting out a series of time-bound targets – with a deadline of 2015 – that have become known as the Millennium Development Goals. These goals are interdependent and inter-related and they have galvanised development planning and execution worldwide since their inception in 2000. The MDGs framework seeks to transform the living conditions of all peoples at the turn of the third millennium. They also translate into a bold initiative through which world leaders hope to bridge the gulf between the rich and poor nations of the world thereby creating a new order of global partnership, development and prosperity.
In order to determine the current status of the MDGs in Nigeria, OSSAP-MDGs commissioned the National Bureau of Statistics to conduct a national household survey that is designed to report on numerous MDGs indicators. The Bureau conducted the 2012 MDGs Survey that sampled 22,200 households, with around 75,000 respondents. The survey design is based on the UNICEF led Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey and captures 20 of the MDGs indicators. This is the first MDG-specific survey commissioned and owned entirely by Nigeria. This process has been completed and the results shall be published over the next two months, the results of which will serve as the basis for the 2013 MDGs report.
Although progress has been mixed, there has been remarkable improvement in the MDGs indicators when compared to baseline statistics. To start with, current data reveals that the prevalence of underweight children shows a demonstrable increase. This highlights the necessity to focus resources in the area of food security and extreme poverty eradication. Net attendance levels for basic schooling have risen markedly when compared with baseline data. However, with ongoing security challenges in the North, we continue to partner with stakeholders to deploy mechanisms to ensure out-of-school children return to the classrooms. The gender parity targets at primary and secondary education levels have been achieved. This is a fantastic achievement which must be sustained. In the North, incentives still need to be provided to ensure sustained female school participation. Significant progress has been made in the drive to attain the health MDGs. For instance, there has been a reduction from the 2008 NDHS figure for the under five mortality rate of 157 deaths per 1,000 live births, to 94 deaths. This trend is similar for infant mortality rate. The infant mortality rate of 61 per 1,000 live births needs to reduce by 50% in order to meet the 2015 target. With increasing investment and ongoing interventions across the health MDGs, this Goal can be achieved.
In addition, Nigeria has continued to reduce the Maternal Mortality Ratio, which is a commendable achievement. In 1990, it was estimated that 1,000 mothers died per 100,000 live births, in 2008 this dropped to 545 and in 2012, the figure is now 350. Nigeria is still 28.6% away from the 2015 target, but there is definite progress in this Goal area. Progress has been driven in a major part by the introduction of the Midwife Services Scheme, which has seen the reversal of the previously negative trend in the percentage of skilled health personnel attending births. In 2008, deliveries that had skilled birth attendance was 38.9% while it rose to 53.6% in 2012.
Data held by the National Agency for the Control of AIDs (NACA) demonstrate that there is a continuation in the fall of the HIV prevalence, from figures as high as 5.8 to 4.1 in 2012. This falling trend satisfies the criteria for the attainment of Target 6.A. In addition to this, the largest change that the 2012 MDGs Survey reports in MDG 6 is the increase in the proportion of under-5 children sleeping under Insecticide Treated Nets. In 2003, the figure was 2.2%, in 2008, it was 5.5% and in 2012, it is 34.6%.Along with MDG 1, MDG 7 demonstrates an unsatisfactory trend in the percentage of the population using improved drinking water sources and those with access to improved sanitation facilities. Whilst there has been remarkable improvement in many MDGs indicators, the MDGs Office, in collaboration with stakeholders, is mobilizing the necessary attention needed to focus on Goals 1 and 7 in order to bring about the desired change.
Further to the foregoing, President Goodluck Jonathan directed that OSSAP-MDGs provides a summary of total government expenditure committed towards the attainment of the MDGs so far. OSSAP-MDGs thus commissioned a study to analyse the country-wide governmental investment in the MDGs. This process is still ongoing and will analyse government budgets for all States and LGAs, in addition to the Federal budget. Preliminary findings, however, reveal that in 2012, the Federal Government invested 17.9% of the Capital and Recurrent Budget on MDG-related activities while a state like Cross River and Yala Local Government spent 26.42% and 64.99% respectively. This trend is representative of the pattern seen for other states and LGAs so far, where the lower the level of government, the greater the MDGs component associated with the budget. The study will be completed in the coming month and it is expected that the outcome will stimulate MDGs-responsive budgeting.
The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Millennium Development Goals (OSSAP-MDGs) is now taking a number of steps to scale up high impact initiatives and introduce new interventions in the drive for greater efficiency of progress in the run up to the 2015 MDGs deadline. Since 2007, a major funding commitment was made to scale-up investments by State Governments in key MDGs sectors through the Conditional Grants Scheme (CGS), managed by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs. The CGS uses the Debt Relief Gains (DRGs) that was negotiated by Nigeria in 2005 and complements investments at the State and Local Government level. It is noteworthy that the scheme is jointly funded by the States, Local and Federal Government.
The experience of the CGS has demonstrated that by leveraging, empowering and incentivising sub-national government, higher implementation rates, genuine community ownership, improved coordination, and increased sustainability can be achieved. The National Committee on Conditional Grants Scheme, chaired by the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, has extended the Conditional Grants Scheme to directly engage Local Governments in the scale-up of MDGs investments.
The objectives of engaging with LGAs are therefore to fast-track the achievement of the MDGs as well as build a sustainable foundation for effective service delivery in local communities. A Needs Assessment and Baseline Facility Inventory of all the 774 LGAs have been done to improve targeting of investment at the grassroots. The results can be found on the Nigerian MDGs Information System (NMIS). In 2011 alone, the Conditional Grants Scheme recorded a number of key successes. These include the construction, renovation and equipping of 1,646 health facilities, construction of 4,478 water facilities, conditional cash transfers to 39,567 households, the payment of salaries of 2,260 new village health workers, the building and renovation of 742 classroom blocks, and the procurement of 1,214,271 textbooks, amongst other activities. The Conditional Grants Scheme was extended to 113 LGAs in 2011. In 2012, it was further scaled up to an additional 148 LGAs making a total of 261 Local Governments. Projects being executed under this tranche include the construction, renovation and equipping of a further 1,743 health facilities, construction of 4,507 water facilities, the building and renovation of 972 classroom blocks, and the procurement of 1,590,373 textbooks.
As agriculture represents one of the target areas of the Office for improving progress against MDG 1, OSSAP-MDGs is introducing the funding of 148 agricultural co-operatives, one in each of the targeted LGAs. OSSAP-MDGs has begun the identification process for the introduction of the third tranche of CGS to LGA scale up identifying a further 230 LGAs to be brought into the scheme.
In 2012, the Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme under the Social Safety Net program of the Office extended social protection to a carefully targeted 56,000 beneficiary households. This expansion is deploying an e-payment disbursement system. The condition side of this program engages education as well as child and maternal health care, whilst the cash side of the program will be coupled with entrepreneurial training and targets agricultural expansion. The e-payment system is designed to increase formal financial entry of these unbanked households.
Taking cognizance of inadequate human capacity as an important bottleneck impeding progress against the MDGs, the MDGs Office, in partnership with key players, is introducing a number of initiatives to deal with the chronic shortage of skilled health care workers and inputs, particularly in rural locations. These schemes include the ‘Saving One Million Lives Initiative’ which has been introduced in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health.
This particular initiative is expanding the deployment of the Midwives Services Scheme and the Community Health Extension Workers programme, as well as increasing a number of health care inputs such as family planning commodities, immunization products, life-saving commodities for women and children, antimalarial and anti-retroviral drugs. To augment this initiative, the Village Health Worker Scheme has just been launched and this is being funded from the Debt Relief Gains. The Maternal and Child Health Insurance Scheme is also being scaled up in 2013 to include an additional 12 states beyond the current 12. Similar human capacity building initiatives are also been deployed across all the MDGs sectors where for instance, the Debt Relief Gains have been used to fund programmes in MDAs such as the National Teachers Institute, the Federal Ministry of Education, the Universal Basic Education Commission and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.
The MDGs Special Projects Unit of the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs recorded remarkable success within its short period of existence. The Project deals with the execution of particular interventions in Constituencies with the interventions aimed at addressing development gaps. The span includes education, health, water supply, small scale power supply, and skills acquisition centres. Completion rates for the 2012 budget year approach 98%. A crucial step in the drive to accelerate progress on the MDGs was taken with the introduction of the MDGs Acceleration Framework (MAF), which in this case targets MDG 5. MAF is a UN created tool designed to intervene in a single or number of MDG areas to alleviate bottlenecks and create efficiencies in areas of current policy and service execution. This MAF process is being conducted in partnership with the United Nations Country System, and the UK Department for International Development.
The Vice President, Mohammed Namadi Sambo, launched the process in January, 2013. The development of the MAF Action Plan has now been successfully completed. This Action Plan draws on workshops held with representation from all stakeholders at all different levels of society. The Action Plan prioritises a number of interventions, such as Family Planning and the strengthening of referral systems. It then identifies bottlenecks to the execution process and suggests acceleration solutions and their viability in terms of short-term impact. Accordingly, the Action Plan costs these solutions over a five-year period and assigns responsibility to the respective stakeholders.
Finally, OSSAP-MDGs has embarked on a process of conducting national consultations to aggregate Nigeria’s development experience at all levels of society under the MDGs framework, such that there can be a contribution to the international considerations on the Post-2015 Agenda. The report for this aggregation is being completed and will be fed into the United Nations High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Agenda.
Nigeria continues to be a reference point globally as one of the few countries that have demonstrated great commitment to the MDGs. Attention also continues to be focussed on the various large expansion of investment in the MDGs at the local level, highlighting their significance and importance to Nigeria’s overall chances of attaining the MDGs.
As we march towards the last 1000 days of the MDGs Framework, it has become imperative for all stakeholders to redouble efforts and focus on developmental interventions that will touch the lives of the poor and vulnerable
•Being remarks by Dr Gbeneol, Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, delivered at a media briefing to mark 1000 days to the end of the MGs Framework.