Ebola: Liberian President To Miss Forthcoming MDGs Summit In Nigeria
As the world leaders and stakeholders continue to battle the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia ...
http://www.africaeagle.com/2014/08/ebola-liberian-president-to-miss.html
As the world leaders and stakeholders continue to battle the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia has decided not to attend the forthcoming Presidential Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Post 2015 Development Agenda in Nigeria in order to deal with the emergency situation in her country.
Liberia is one of the three epicentres of the epidemic along with Sierra Leone and Guinea.
For the same reason, the Liberian president missed the United States-African Leaders’ Summit in Washington D.C last week.
The announcement came as the federal government yesterday assured Nigerians that it would step up the screening of inbound passengers at all the international airports in the country and also work with airlines to check outbound passengers to stop the spread of Ebola virus.
Johnson Sirleaf was one of the two presidents invited, the other being President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, to grace the high-level opening ceremony of the summit along with President Goodluck Jonathan.
This hint was given yesterday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President Jonathan on MDGs (SSAP-MDGs), Mrs. Precious Gbeneol, during the press briefing on the presidential summit coming up next week, with the theme: ‘The MDGs And The Socio-Economic Transformation of Nigeria: 2015 and Beyond’.
“Apart from the president, we also have President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia who will not make it due to the Ebola virus issue in her (Sirleaf Johnson) country.
“Concerning the virus, we are collaborating very well with the Federal Ministry of Health, which is on top of the situation. In addition, we want to advise Nigerians to take care of themselves, their sanitation and avoid dealing with bush meat,” she urged.
Speaking on the summit, the presidential aide said it would help the policymakers come up with strategies to sustain the momentum in the final push to achieving the MDGs targets in Nigeria, especially in those critical areas where the country lags behind, recognise and reward political leadership in the implementation of the MDGs with a view to raising political commitments to the outcomes of the post 2015 process.
She said participants at the summit organised by OSSAP-MDGs in partnership with the United Nations System in Nigeria and the Centre for Law and Socio-Economic Development (CLED) would reflect on the challenges and lessons learnt from the Nigeria’s effort to achieve the MDGs with a view to using aspect of the strategies deemed successful to fashion out effective implementation plan for post 2015 development agenda.
According to Gbeneol, the presidential summit will also review Nigeria’s contribution to the post 2015 process so far based on emerging outcomes and priorities at regional and global levels and lay foundation for political and institutional framework towards the implementation of the post 2015 agenda.
“The summit will take place from 18 August at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja with participants drawn from different segments of the society-youths, women, private sector, government, civil society organisations, international development partners, trade unions, the academia and media,” she said.
On the achievements recorded so far, Gbeneol stated that: “The MDGs have influenced development processes across the African continent,” especially Nigeria where gender parity has been attained for Universal Basic Education (UBE).
She added that: “Significant progress has been achieved in school enrolment, gender gap, treatment of diseases (especially HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB), reduction in child mortality and expansion in access by poor people to clean drinking water.
“Where increased aid, debt relief and the commodity price boom have boosted economic growth, some proceeds of this growth have been passed on to the poor, thereby cutting down extreme income poverty.
“In Goal 3, Nigeria has attained parity in the ratio of boys and girls in the basic school. Nigeria has exceeded the international requirement of 35 percent affirmative action,” she noted.
Gbeneol said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) survey of 2013 revealed that in 2012, primary school net attendance ratio was 71.0 per cent which represents about 10.0 per cent improvement in comparison to 2008.
“Secondary school net attendance ratio was about 54.8 per cent with the urban area accounting for 70.5 per cent, while the rural area accounted for 46.2 per cent. Grade six completion rate was about 87.7 per cent, representing about 5.7 per cent increase compared with the 2004 figure and 12.3 per cent lower than the MDGs benchmark.
“A further breakdown in the figure shows that completion rate was about 81.5 per cent in urban area and 90.5 per cent in the rural area,” she said.
Meanwhile, speaking the Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, while addressing journalists at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) yesterday to review the medical procedures put in place to curb the spread of the dreaded disease to other parts of the country, stated that the fight against the virus should not be politicised by any group or persons, adding that government was proactive and highly committed to ensuring that Ebola spread was curtailed and the airports protected from the virus.
“I assumed office at a time the Ebola virus is ravishing some parts of West Africa, so part of the visit to Lagos is to review the medical procedures that have been put in place at the airports, the screening of passengers coming and leaving the Lagos airport. And to reassure all Nigerians that we are doing all that is within our ability to make our airport safe from the virus.
“You will also agree with me that the proactive manner Mr. President has reacted to the issue of the Ebola virus, highlighting it, and making its curtailment paramount. I am coming out to make sure that the country does not go back in the fight against that virus. That is why we decided to go to the airport yesterday (Monday) to tour the airport and to reassure Nigerians of the government’s commitment to keep our airport safe and to make sure that it is not a transit point for the transmission of the Ebola virus.”
The minister emphasised that the virus was not a political issue.
“It is not an issue for passing the bulk, it is not an issue that recognises ethnicity or religious issue; it is an issue against humanity; it is an issue we should all rise up and fight; it is an issue we should all show restraint and also show compassion for those that have been affected with the disease. So we want to assure all Nigerians of our commitment in keeping our airport Ebola virus free.”
Chidoka, who toured the airport facilities on Monday, said a lot had been done in the industry and a lot more would be done, but the challenges facing the industry have to be prioritised, stressing that the emphasis should be on safety and security in airline operations, guided by the aviation master plan.
He promised that his target would be the completion of ongoing projects including passenger terminals, cargo terminals and other infrastructural projects going on at the airports.
“We are going to review activities in the industry, review existing projects, and try and review these activities to ensure safety in the air, safety and security of our airport infrastructure and to ensure customers convenience in the use of the airport. To this end, our visit yesterday at the airport, shows that a lot of progress has been made in the industry. Our discussions with the stakeholders have led to the affirmation that the aviation master plan, the document should be built on.
“Our engagement with the unions have shown that the industry should be aligned in making sure that the aviation master plan and the road map remain a defining document in setting our way forward,” he said.
The minister said on assumption of office that he decided he would first of all hear the opinions across all the segments of the industry and then come up with an implementation strategy that would be in tandem with recommendations, guided by the aviation master plan.
Source: This Day
Liberia is one of the three epicentres of the epidemic along with Sierra Leone and Guinea.
For the same reason, the Liberian president missed the United States-African Leaders’ Summit in Washington D.C last week.
The announcement came as the federal government yesterday assured Nigerians that it would step up the screening of inbound passengers at all the international airports in the country and also work with airlines to check outbound passengers to stop the spread of Ebola virus.
Johnson Sirleaf was one of the two presidents invited, the other being President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, to grace the high-level opening ceremony of the summit along with President Goodluck Jonathan.
This hint was given yesterday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President Jonathan on MDGs (SSAP-MDGs), Mrs. Precious Gbeneol, during the press briefing on the presidential summit coming up next week, with the theme: ‘The MDGs And The Socio-Economic Transformation of Nigeria: 2015 and Beyond’.
“Apart from the president, we also have President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia who will not make it due to the Ebola virus issue in her (Sirleaf Johnson) country.
“Concerning the virus, we are collaborating very well with the Federal Ministry of Health, which is on top of the situation. In addition, we want to advise Nigerians to take care of themselves, their sanitation and avoid dealing with bush meat,” she urged.
Speaking on the summit, the presidential aide said it would help the policymakers come up with strategies to sustain the momentum in the final push to achieving the MDGs targets in Nigeria, especially in those critical areas where the country lags behind, recognise and reward political leadership in the implementation of the MDGs with a view to raising political commitments to the outcomes of the post 2015 process.
She said participants at the summit organised by OSSAP-MDGs in partnership with the United Nations System in Nigeria and the Centre for Law and Socio-Economic Development (CLED) would reflect on the challenges and lessons learnt from the Nigeria’s effort to achieve the MDGs with a view to using aspect of the strategies deemed successful to fashion out effective implementation plan for post 2015 development agenda.
According to Gbeneol, the presidential summit will also review Nigeria’s contribution to the post 2015 process so far based on emerging outcomes and priorities at regional and global levels and lay foundation for political and institutional framework towards the implementation of the post 2015 agenda.
“The summit will take place from 18 August at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja with participants drawn from different segments of the society-youths, women, private sector, government, civil society organisations, international development partners, trade unions, the academia and media,” she said.
On the achievements recorded so far, Gbeneol stated that: “The MDGs have influenced development processes across the African continent,” especially Nigeria where gender parity has been attained for Universal Basic Education (UBE).
She added that: “Significant progress has been achieved in school enrolment, gender gap, treatment of diseases (especially HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB), reduction in child mortality and expansion in access by poor people to clean drinking water.
“Where increased aid, debt relief and the commodity price boom have boosted economic growth, some proceeds of this growth have been passed on to the poor, thereby cutting down extreme income poverty.
“In Goal 3, Nigeria has attained parity in the ratio of boys and girls in the basic school. Nigeria has exceeded the international requirement of 35 percent affirmative action,” she noted.
Gbeneol said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) survey of 2013 revealed that in 2012, primary school net attendance ratio was 71.0 per cent which represents about 10.0 per cent improvement in comparison to 2008.
“Secondary school net attendance ratio was about 54.8 per cent with the urban area accounting for 70.5 per cent, while the rural area accounted for 46.2 per cent. Grade six completion rate was about 87.7 per cent, representing about 5.7 per cent increase compared with the 2004 figure and 12.3 per cent lower than the MDGs benchmark.
“A further breakdown in the figure shows that completion rate was about 81.5 per cent in urban area and 90.5 per cent in the rural area,” she said.
Meanwhile, speaking the Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, while addressing journalists at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) yesterday to review the medical procedures put in place to curb the spread of the dreaded disease to other parts of the country, stated that the fight against the virus should not be politicised by any group or persons, adding that government was proactive and highly committed to ensuring that Ebola spread was curtailed and the airports protected from the virus.
“I assumed office at a time the Ebola virus is ravishing some parts of West Africa, so part of the visit to Lagos is to review the medical procedures that have been put in place at the airports, the screening of passengers coming and leaving the Lagos airport. And to reassure all Nigerians that we are doing all that is within our ability to make our airport safe from the virus.
“You will also agree with me that the proactive manner Mr. President has reacted to the issue of the Ebola virus, highlighting it, and making its curtailment paramount. I am coming out to make sure that the country does not go back in the fight against that virus. That is why we decided to go to the airport yesterday (Monday) to tour the airport and to reassure Nigerians of the government’s commitment to keep our airport safe and to make sure that it is not a transit point for the transmission of the Ebola virus.”
The minister emphasised that the virus was not a political issue.
“It is not an issue for passing the bulk, it is not an issue that recognises ethnicity or religious issue; it is an issue against humanity; it is an issue we should all rise up and fight; it is an issue we should all show restraint and also show compassion for those that have been affected with the disease. So we want to assure all Nigerians of our commitment in keeping our airport Ebola virus free.”
Chidoka, who toured the airport facilities on Monday, said a lot had been done in the industry and a lot more would be done, but the challenges facing the industry have to be prioritised, stressing that the emphasis should be on safety and security in airline operations, guided by the aviation master plan.
He promised that his target would be the completion of ongoing projects including passenger terminals, cargo terminals and other infrastructural projects going on at the airports.
“We are going to review activities in the industry, review existing projects, and try and review these activities to ensure safety in the air, safety and security of our airport infrastructure and to ensure customers convenience in the use of the airport. To this end, our visit yesterday at the airport, shows that a lot of progress has been made in the industry. Our discussions with the stakeholders have led to the affirmation that the aviation master plan, the document should be built on.
“Our engagement with the unions have shown that the industry should be aligned in making sure that the aviation master plan and the road map remain a defining document in setting our way forward,” he said.
The minister said on assumption of office that he decided he would first of all hear the opinions across all the segments of the industry and then come up with an implementation strategy that would be in tandem with recommendations, guided by the aviation master plan.
Source: This Day
