Chijioke Iremeka
The World Health Organisation says the Sustainable Development Goals targets are currently in jeopardy due to economic crisis, climate change, multiple emergencies, and the global economic downturn following the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The global health body hinted that the 2030 deadline for achieving these goals may be extended if the trend continues, as only about 17 percent of the SDG healthcare targets are on track, saying that the rest was at serious risk.
The WHO’s Country Representative to Nigeria, Dr Walter Mulombo stated this during a two-day training organised by the WHO for journalists in Abuja.
Mulombo said the SDG targets, especially universal health care, zero hunger, zero poverty, and clean energy, among others, were at risk.
He emphasised the need to pick up the pace of actions towards attaining the SDGs and the Universal Health Coverage across the WHO member nations and beyond.
Mulombo said Nigeria must go beyond pilot projects and focus on implementation and delivering large-scale, quality healthcare solutions to be close to attaining these goals.
He said, “Nigeria, as a member state of WHO, has endorsed health emergency preparedness response. The world has changed, and we have an SDG target.
“The SDG targets are in jeopardy due to the economic downturn, climate change, and multiple emergencies that require prompt action to achieve the SDGs.”
Mulombo noted that the Summit of the future has endorsed a roadmap with strategies to accelerate the SDGs, but “if we continue at the current pace, we may not reach the goals.
“It is no longer time for pilot projects. It is time for implementation, quality, scale, and speed if we are to reach there.”
He hinted that the global health body is rethinking the strategies to support Nigeria in accelerating the attainment of the SDGs, emphasising on total government’s approach.
Mulombo noted that Nigeria’s ranking as 187th out of 191 countries in healthcare performance was an issue of serious concern.
He noted that addressing the problems of inadequate funding, poorly trained healthcare personnel, and high costs of services in the country, would go a long way for the country in crisis.
Mulombo said that the media has a critical role to play in the journey, especially in countering misinformation and disinformation and reporting with a sense of responsibility, as the population relies on the media to get reliable information.
He harped on the importance of ensuring that children are vaccinated against childhood diseases.
“Vaccination is a human right, and denying children access to vaccination is a human rights violation. Children dying of vaccine-preventable diseases is a human rights violation,” the WHO representative warned.
Mulombo urged the journalists to collaborate with healthcare experts to ensure accurate information reaches the public, especially in light of global challenges like COVID-19, climate change, and economic downturns.
He encouraged them to maintain ethical and evidence-based reporting as Nigeria navigates its healthcare challenges while commending their resilience.
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